By the Shadow of the Moon
by Kuroida
Summary: Remus Lupin is a werewolf...but sooner or later he's going to realize that he's so much more. Series of interconnected oneshots. Eventual RLNT. AU break from cannon. Prequel to a Year to be Remembered. LAST CHAPTER: Teddy
1. Sirius Black

Trying something new here. This is going to be the prequel for A Year to be Remembered and shows the break from cannon. It can be read alone. It's going to focus on one main viewpoint per chapter. It's kinda like a seires of interconnected one shots. I don't really know how to explain it any better so just bear with me and let's see how far we go.

* * *

It had been three days after the full moon the night that the Potters were killed and Remus' life had seemingly ended.

He remembered Dumbledore passing on the news that two of his friends were dead and the other had been the reason.

He remembered punching a hole in the wall and, as his anger turned to despair, lying in bed late at night nursing a bottle of firewhiskey.

By the time the next full moon came his anger had already been vented but that didn't stop the wolf from tearing himself to pieces, locked up in his little basement.

And the next morning he'd stumbled blindly into his bedroom, patched himself up and gone to bed knowing full well that when he awoke, his friends would not be there to cheer him up and tell him the adventures they'd gone on on that night.

And that had been it. That had been his life for thirteen years. No friends, no family. He scraped by with enough money for a little flat and just enough food to survive and more than once he'd asked himself "what's the point?"

But he'd kept at it. He busied himself with small, simple jobs that kept his mind thinking on other things. He didn't focus on what ifs or could haves. He accepted it and moved on because if he thought about why Sirius was the killer or how Peter had become the victim he would have come to the conclusion that he didn't factor into the equation at all. He had just been there. No one had bothered to tell him anything. No one had_ trusted_ him.

And for a man that loved to be loved he wouldn't have been able to bear it.

But then he realized Sirius innocent and Pettigrew was alive and when he'd rushed into the Shrieking Shack everything had hit him with the force of a sledgehammer.

"Wouldn't Sirius have told you they changed the plan?" Pettegrew had asked in a fearful voice and Remus felt his resolve shatter.

"Not if he thought I was the spy," he'd answered quietly, _"Not if he'd trusted me."_

And Sirius had asked for forgiveness and Remus had brushed him off lightly because he just couldn't bear to think about it.

"Not at all Padfoot old friend," he'd said with a wry smile but deep down he didn't know if he'd spoken the truth.

And one year later, he still didn't know. Did he forgive Sirius? Did he forgive him for not trusting him? For leaving him alone for thirteen years? Even when Remus would have gone to the greatest of lengths for Sirius in return?

And on one fateful day he had concluded, with dread in his heart that no. He hadn't forgiven Sirius because if it wasn't for him he wouldn't have to be dealing with this shit. He wouldn't have been lying awake at night questioning his role in life. He wouldn't be silently wondering if he mattered at all.

For thirteen years he'd been stuck in Limbo. He hadn't felt hatred or despair or even longing. He'd quietly accepted everything that came to him. He didn't question himself or his friends but now with Sirius back he was forced out of that peaceful ignorant bliss. He had to figure out how he fit._ If_ he fit.

And in the end. He'd concluded that he didn't.

Yet when Sirius had knocked on his door after Harry's fourth year and shuffled his feet a bit in embarrassment, Remus was forced to once again ignore everything. He'd stared at Sirius' rather sorry state for a moment and even though he had deemed it all Sirius' fault. He realized that he couldn't turn Sirius away. Couldn't just shut the door in his face and never talk to him again.

For a man who loved to be loved he could never do that to a friend, new or old and that was Remus Lupin's one fatal flaw.

"Hey," Sirius had started rather awkwardly and Lupin had leaned against the doorframe with a small smile before replying.

"Hey."

* * *

A few months after that, Sirius had wormed his way into Remus' life and Remus had pushed all other thoughts aside.

He'd accepted Sirius. Laughed at his jokes and the stupid little things he did certainly helped liven the place up and that month on the full moon, Sirius had been there to keep him company as Padfoot. Afterwards he'd hauled Remus to bed, patched him up and even made him some breakfast.

And Remus had been reminded of times like these from thirteen years ago and he savoured in the moment because deep down in his heart he knew it would never last. It hadn't lasted thirteen years ago. It certainly wouldn't last now.

And in the end, Remus was right.

* * *

"Oi Moony! Where are you you lazy ass? It's cake time!"

Remus shook himself from his thoughts and rolled off his bed at Number 12 Grimmlaud Place with a sigh. Fifteen years after the deaths of Lily and James and the full moon just happened to land on July 31st.

"I'm coming Padfoot," he called as Sirius burst through the door of his room.

"What's the matter with you Moony? Why you so anal today?" Sirius asked and Remus raised an eyebrow at his friend's choice of words.

"Come on. You have to see Harry's cake! Molly's a dragon I say but damn can she cook!" Sirius went on, dragging Remus out of the room.

To be quite honest, Remus was in no mood for cake. All that extra food and cream would probably make him puke. Not to mention transforming on a full stomach made it feel even worse as he would usually always puke half way through.

Remus winced at the thought.

"Actually Padfoot. I don't really want cake today," he said and Sirius stopped on the landing of the stairs to look at him with a confused look.

"Why not? It's Harry's birthday! You can't have a birthday without cake! Besides it looks great!" he said enthusiastically and Remus suddenly realized that Sirius, in the excitement of finally attending one of his godson's birthdays, had quite forgotten that it was a full moon.

Looking in Sirius' happy and excited eyes Remus didn't have the heart to remind him and offered him a smile instead.

"Yeah. You're right. Come on let's go," he said in false cheeriness as he continued down the stairs of the Black house, Sirius at his heels.

The birthday went quite well to be honest and Remus even managed to lose himself in the excited atmosphere. He insisted on the smallest piece of cake and tried to eat just enough to avoid suspicion. He ended up having a rather engaging conversation with Bill Weasley and his father and sooner than he'd expected the clock was chiming nine o clock and several of the house guests retired to their rooms while the others filed out the front door to their own houses.

"I'd better be going then," Remus said, excusing himself from the table. It was a good thing it was summer time. The moon rose later and set earlier in the long summer days so the time wouldn't be so suspicious when Remus had to leave.

Unfortunately, Sirius didn't think so.

"Oi, where you going Moony?" he asked and Remus barely held back a wince.

"I have to go," he supplied and Sirius scowled, "to where? It's Harry's birthday you know?"

"Yes of course Padfoot, I know," Remus said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, "I've got to check on the flat. The landlord's coming around tomorrow morning and I have to fix it up before she arrives," Remus lied. Hopefully Padfoot wouldn't know the fact that he didn't _have_ a landlord since the flat had actually been bought by his parents for him once he'd graduated Hogwarts.

Sirius thankfully only raised an eyebrow and Remus' excuse before asking, "You're coming back aren't you?"

"Of course," Remus said with a wry grin that felt false as he ran up the stairs to fetch his cloak. Hopefully Sirius hadn't been asking if he was coming back _tonight_.

Upon reaching his room he hurriedly snatched up his cloak and gave a sigh of pure frustration when he realized his wand was in its many pockets. He must have left it back in the kitchen and he needed his wand to apparate.

"I don't have time for this," Remus muttered as he sprinted back down the stairs. The moon would be rising in a bit over half an hour and Remus could already feel his body reacting to its pull.

He slowly and silently pushed the door of the kitchen open and realized that it was empty save for Harry and Sirius who were still sitting at the table, backs to the door.

Ignoring them Remus turned to his former seat from before and, sure enough, there was his wand lying innocently on the checkered table cloth. Remus moved his hand to accio the wand to him with wandless magic before he was interrupted,

"I just...wish that my parents could have been here," Harry suddenly said a bit sadly and Remus froze.

"You think they would have been happy for me?"

Sirius on the other hand gave a laugh and reached over to pull Harry into a one armed hug.

"Of course they'd be happy Harry. They'd be bloody proud of you. Take it from me. There's no one in the world that cared for them more than I did!" Sirius said rather proudly and Remus felt something snap.

He was a nobody. He had hoped that with Sirius back his life could start gaining some structure. Sure he never expected Sirius to babysit him every full moon. That'd be troublesome and downright embarrassing. He never expected Sirius to even remember when the full moon was. He figured that people had other things to worry about and Remus never wanted to be seen as a handicap anyways. But he'd just been ignored. He'd been tossed aside like some rag doll and Sirius had come in and taken everything. His peace; his trust; his friendship; his _purpose_.

And for the first time in his life Remus felt anger. Anger at Sirius. He had no idea what Remus had been through the past fourteen years. Who was he to say that Remus hadn't cared for James and Lily just as much as he did?

It might have been the fact that he had had very little sleep the past few days or that the Order meetings had left him a bit stressed or, more possibly, it could be that it was now just half an hour before the full moon and his inner wolf was just dying to get it out.

Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, before he knew it Remus had crossed the kitchen, balled his hand into a fist and belted Sirius across the face.

The force of the unexpected blow caused Sirius to tip sideways out of his chair and he crashed to the floor, staring in surprise at his friend.

The room was dead quiet for what everyone felt was an extremely long amount of time.

Harry was staring in shock at the usually calm and collected professor and Remus realized what he had just done.

He'd let the wolf take over. He hadn't been able to control his anger.

He gave a panicked gasp and took a step back, eyes wide at his friend on the floor who was staring at him in with a mirror image on his face.

He had been _jealous_. Jealous of Sirius for what he had that Remus didn't and who was Remus to take that away from him? Just because Remus was a nobody didn't mean he had the right to deny Sirius his happiness. The man had spent thirteen years in Azkaban! Surely that was worse than what Remus had dealt with.

"I-I-" Remus started, "I have to go," he mumbled, grabbing his wand and rushing out the kitchen.

"No! Moony! Wait!" Sirius called after him but Remus ignored him as he sprinted to the door. He had to leave. Now.

He'd just managed to wretch the door free before a hand grabbed him by the wrist.

"Moony. Please it's Ok," Sirius said and Remus turned to look at him.

"I'm not Moony he growled, jerking his hand free and stepping out the door.

"_Moony had friends and people who trusted him,"_

"Moony died fifteen years ago,"

And with a BANG! Remus was gone.

Sirius was left standing alone at the front door, mind reeling at what had just happened.

His best friend had just pummelled him across the face looking every bit like the wolf within him but Sirius had already forgiven him, after all it had been his fault.

"Harry?" he asked the boy who'd run after him but not bothering to look back.

"What day is it?" he asked and Harry, looking totally confused could only shrug helplessly.

"DAMMIT!" Sirius shouted, slamming the door with a bang.

He'd been an idiot. He'd taken Remus for granted. He'd shown up at his front door two months ago praying for the love of Merlin that his friend still accepted him and when Remus had leaned on the door so casually and offered him a smile he'd cast him aside in that same second. Whatever pleased Sirius had to please Remus because Remus loved to be loved and Sirius never took into account what Remus had been through during those thirteen years. It must have been hell. Sirius might have been locked up in Azkaban but he'd known the truth. He'd had a purpose: to break free and kill the damn rat with his own hands. But then there was Remus. Remus who would do anything for his friends. The quiet, sensible one that tried his best to keep them out of trouble. Remus the werewolf...the man who, in the end, Sirius_ hadn't _trusted. He'd _assumed_. And being a Black, he always believed himself to be right.

And he knew it. Knew that he'd broken Remus' trust. So he'd asked for forgiveness. Those two simple words in the Shrieking Shack on that fateful day: "Forgive me." He hadn't thought of making a more profound apology because, deep down, he'd taken Remus' trust for granted. Knew that should he ask, Remus would always give while his friend had been battling with himself all this time.

Until today, where Sirius had just practically taken his trust and everything Remus had done for him and James and Lily and even the damn rat. He'd taken it all and gone and thrown back in Remus' face.

"_You weren't important. You'll never be important. There's no one in the world that cared for them more than I did. Especially not a pathetic werewolf like you."_

That was the true message that had been said and Sirius had let it slip without even thinking about Remus or his feelings. He deserved to be locked up in Azkaban. He was an idiot; a moron; a bloody imbecile.

And he was going to set things right.

"SNAPE!" Sirius roared, barging into the library of the house without a second thought.

Snape glanced up from his book at the intruder with a noticeable scowl but Sirius was far too preoccupied with what he was about to do.

"_This is for Remus,"_ he thought to himself as he finally set aside his prickly pride.

He marched into the room, gritted his teeth, got down on his hands and knees and bowed his head in the tell tale sign of submission.

"I need your help," he finished trying desperately to keep his voice neutral.

Snape was no doubt staring at him with that ever present sneer whenever he had an enemy at his mercy. Oh, he was going to enjoy _this_.

Sirius resisted the urge to leap up and throttle the slimeball. He could take this. If Remus could take it for the whole year that they'd been working together, Sirius could stand a few minutes.

After a few more seconds of this public display of submission that left Sirius' skin crawl, Snape finally shut his book with a loud snap, "Very well Black," he drawled.

"Remus?" Oi Remus! Open up!" Severus Snape's fist pounded on the door to Remus' flat only to receive no answer.

With a frustrated sigh the man brushed the disgustingly greasy hair out of his eyes, took out his wand and with a simple Alohomora the door swung open.

He quickly closed the door and ran over to the door leading to the basement making sure not to look in any mirrors should he come across them.

Remus had taught him how to undo and reapply the security wards in the basement and after a few more minutes of frantic fiddling he finally had them all undone.

"There you are."

"What do you want Sirius?" Remus asked tiredly, he was sitting with his legs drawn up on the cold floor in the corner of the basement. A blanket was wrapped around his thin frame and chains were already tied to his ankles and wrists. Sirius gave a wince at the sight but asked his own question.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, hesitant and Remus finally looked up to meet the eyes of Severus Snape.

"Because only you'd be stupid enough to come in here," he mumbled at an attempt at humor but Sirius could tell his heart wasn't in it.

"Hey, it was a great disguise don't you think? Severus Snape, under Dumbledore's orders, giving Remus Lupin Wolfsbane on the night of a full moon," Sirius asked lightly as he uncorked a potion that Snape had provided and drained it. Almost instantly, the Polyjuice Potion's effect was negated and the form that was Severus Snape turned back into Sirius Black.

Sirius gave his friend a grin as welcome but Remus looked away.

"You shouldn't be here," he went on and Sirius' grin faded.

"It's not safe. What if someone saw you?" Remus went on, still staring at his feet and Sirius frowned.

"I know. That's why I had old Snivellus give me some Polyjuice. No spell would have been able to tell the difference..."

"It's Harry's birthday," Lupin interrupted and Sirius sighed, fidgeting uncomfortably. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out, "I spent all day with Harry. Now I'll spend all night with you," Sirius answered but Remus still didn't look convinced.

"Look Mo- _Remus,_" Sirius corrected, "I'd say I'm sorry but I know that's not good enough. Can you at least tell me what you're thinking?" Sirius asked and Remus sighed. He wasn't used to this kind of Sirius.

"...I'm thinking..." he started slowly only to look away again, "you didn't trust me because I'm a werewolf," Remus finished slowly and Sirius winced. Remus' power or reasoning was the stuff of legends really for he'd hit the nail right on the head.

Sirius opened his mouth to reply. To say that that wasn't true. That he'd always trusted Remus...

But then he'd be lying.

"You're right," Sirius mumbled, looking ashamed as Remus' body tensed, "I was a moron. I could sit here and make excuses with you all day but you're right. You're a Dark Creature. Voldemort probably would have made put you high up in his ranks, given you things that the wizarding community wouldn't. At first I thought it was ridiculous but that damn rat always kept giving me hints. He pointed out that you were beginning to avoid us; that you didn't seem as scared as the rest of us. And that got me thinking..." Sirius trialed off with a sigh, "I'm really sorry Remus. I deserve every single second I spent in Azkaban," he finished lamely.

The basement was filled with an uncomfortable silence that, to Sirius felt like hours. Remus wasn't going to say anything. He would just continue to ignore Sirius until he got the message and left so with a guilty sigh, Sirius turned and started heading back up the stairs.

"Don't," Remus cut in as soon as Sirius took the first step and he felt his heart blossom with hope.

"Do you trust me now?" Remus asked a bit helplessly.

"Of course!" Sirius shouted, wanting nothing more than to take his friend and shake him, "Werewolf or not you're the best person in the world Remus. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not even an idiot like me. You're gonna stand up with your head held high and give society the finger. You're gonna stand on the highest building in the world and shout down to everyone else that you're up there, they're down there and they can't do shit about it. You're gonna get married and get a job and maybe even have a kid and you know why Remus? Because you can. I know you can. Give yourself some bloody credit for once in your life would you?" Sirius shouted finishing his speech with an empathetic punch to the wall.

And Remus looked at his best friend, eyes more alive than ever before, breathing heavily after shouting so much...and burst out laughing.

It was just so..._Sirius_. To have him shout at you for being a wimp and at the same time encourage you to greatness. It left Remus feeling like the world was at his calling that he could do anything and everything. It made him feel whole. It gave him _purpose_.

Sirius on the other hand was looking almost mortified for yelling at his friend.

"_Dammit I'm an idiot. He's gonna hate me now," _Sirius thought to himself but then Remus had laughed and the old twinkle that had been in his eyes fifteen years ago was back.

"Sirius?" Remus started, smile now gone and Sirius looked up at him, "Remus?" he replied, fidgeting nervously, surely Remus would now just turn him back to the door and ask him to leave after that...

"Are you going to stay?"

Sirius frowned in thought, "If you want me to," he started hesitantly looking into Remus' eyes and he felt his heart almost blossom with happiness as Remus nodded and patted the ground next to him.

With a woot of triumph Sirius reverted in his canine alter ego and happily romped over to lie beside his friend. The transformation should now only be a few minutes away.

"Padfoot?" Remus whispered as they got themselves comfortable for the impending transformation.

Padfoot cocked his head to the side in question.

"Call me Moony would you?"

And Padfoot perked his ears and gave a happy bark and even when the transformation began and Remus felt himself changing. He didn't think he'd felt this happy in fifteen years.

"_Thanks."_

_

* * *

_

Reviews would be greatly appreciated!

Sirius **will live **in this AU although after this he's not going to be the main focus for a while.

And if your name is The Chocolate Alchemist your are forbidden to review (if your name is The Chocolate Alchemist you'd know why) XD


	2. Ted Tonks

Ted Tonks was by no means a closed minded man. Hell, he was the husband of Andromeda Tonks, a Slytherin and descendant of one of the vilest families in the world. At least, that's how most people saw it as.

But nevertheless, he had been open minded. He'd been friendly to Andromeda even though their houses and his blood status would have suggested otherwise. He had respected her and cared for her and in the end; he had deemed her the love of his life and married her.

They'd had a daughter. Born in 1973 and that was his second love of his life for all the different reasons.

Watching Nymphadora grow up had been possibly the most thrilling and exciting experience he could name. There wasn't a day that went by when she was younger that didn't result in something new and unexpected to happen. While Andromeda had frowned at most of them Ted had been the supporting father by telling her daughter that she could be whatever it was she wanted to be. Do whatever it was she wanted to do.

He'd laughed at the broken silverware, the stains on the priceless rug and, as she got older, the notes from school telling them about the time his daughter had set fire to the boys washroom or when she'd "accidentally" charmed all the library books to attack their owners.

In the end, while his wife fussed and scolded Nymphadora on behalf of both of them, he'd pat her gently and reminded her that it was just their baby girl growing up, trying new things, opening up her mind to the different possibilities. "And besides," he'd say optimistically, "it certainly makes life more interesting,"

And interesting it had been. Tonks had taken his father's words to heart. She'd breezed by school with NEWTs in all her subjects. She'd applied for the prestigious Auror program and gotten apprenticed by none other than the infamous Mad Eye Moody.

And she'd gone off to fall head over heels in love with a werewolf.

It wasn't hard for Ted to notice the change. For most of the year, when Tonks visited her parents, her smile lacked warmth and her hair was its usual mousey brown. When asked, she'd shrug and say she just liked it better that way. The first time had been believable. The three after that hadn't been.

It had taken some time but Ted and Andromeda had finally managed to corner their daughter about it over Sunday dinner with the family.

"We just want to know if everything's alright," Andromeda had insisted and an ugly flush crept over Tonks' face.

"Come on kiddo," Ted said light heartedly, "we're your parents. We want to help that's all," he insisted and finally Tonks spoke.

"What would you do..." Tonks started, setting her fork down and placing her hands into her lap, "what would you do if you loved someone so much you'd give your life away for them?"

"And this person doesn't love you back?" Ted interrupted only to wither slightly at Tonks' glare.

"No. He loves me. Or at least I think he loves me. He's just so...so...bloody_ selfless_,"

Ted raised an eyebrow but refrained from commenting, instead he gave a glance in his wife's direction before their daughter continued.

"He says he's too poor and too old and too dangerous and he won't accept the fact that I love him for who he is and I don't care about any of that and then Dumbledore's sent him on some stupid mission and I don't even know when I'll get to see him again but he's probably avoiding me like the plague anyways because he doesn't think he deserves me and that I should be looking for someone better and it's just not bloody _fair_!"

And with that Tonks burst into tears.

Andromeda immediately went to her daughter's side to comfort her while Ted just sat there. That had happened_ waaaay _too fast.

Not to mention there were too many _questions_ but Ted didn't feel like now was the time to ask them.

Finally, after a few more awkward comforting, Tonks seemed to have calmed down and Ted muffled a sigh of relief.

"Ok..." Ted started cautiously as if Tonks was a rabbit and he was afraid of startling her, "...I think...your mother and I have...a few questions..." he finished lamely, shooting his wife a look begging her to take over from here.

"Does this man have a name?" Andromeda finished and Ted nodded. That seemed to be the most sensible place to start.

"Remus. Remus Lupin," Tonks replied easily and Ted nodded, taking the information and filing it away for future use because he knew that this wouldn't be last time he'd hear of that name.

"Right. And when you say he's too poor I take it he doesn't have a steady job," Ted went on and Tonks turned to glare at her father, "it wasn't a reprimand!" he defended holding up his hands, "I was just saying..."

"Just drop it dad," Tonks mumbled.

Ted dropped it.

Instead he turned back to the other questions, "So...how old is old?" he asked a bit awkwardly and Tonks' mumble was too quiet to decipher.

"What was that love?" Andromeda asked, face slowly looking concerned.

"Thirteen years," Tonks said only slightly louder.

Had Ted been drinking something he would have chocked and spluttered till he'd quite effectively ruined the mood of the dinner. Thankfully he wasn't drinking and instead only managed a large widening of the eyes.

He did the mental math. This Lupin fellow was only about eight years younger than_ he_ was.

"And by dangerous?" Andromeda asked, mouth set into a grim line. She didn't seem to be enjoying this one bit.

"It doesn't matter," Tonks protested, crossing her arms stubbornly, "I'm an auror. Remus is an expert at defensive magic. He takes precautions every month and-"

"Dora..." Ted interrupted and Tonks sighed in defeat.

"He's got a...medical condition..." Tonks said and Ted's eyes narrowed.

"And just what _is _the condition?" he pressed and Tonks shot him a glare before taking a deep breath and replying in an equally determined voice:

"Lycanthropy."

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Ted swore that his wife beside him had stopped _breathing._

"Dear. Please don't tell me you're risking your life by chasing after a_ werewolf_," Andromeda stressed and Tonks' face grew fierce.

"You don't get it either mum!" she shouted and both parents jumped.

"He's a good man! All you people just have a stupidly closed mind about his condition. Just because he's a werewolf doesn't mean that he should be treated any less by the rest of society," Tonks defended.

"It's not just that dear," Andromeda went on, "he's not even from your generation. He went to school with _Sirius_," she stressed. Apparently she'd done the mental math as well.

"Sirius agrees with me on this," Tonks said venomously and Andromeda paused.

"Remus was the one that saved Sirius' life that day at the Ministry," Tonks continued.

On that fateful day when Harry and his friends had gone down to the Ministry only to be attacked by Death Eaters, Sirius had taken a stunning charm to the chest by Andromeda's own sister and almost fallen to his death through the veil. Tonks had told both her parents the story but it hadn't occurred to Ted that_ this_ Remus Lupin was the same Lupin who had almost thrown himself into the veil himself and pulled his best friend back out on that day.

"Still..." Ted started only for his daughter to round on him.

"Why can't you just give him a chance?" she sighed sadly before getting up.

"It doesn't matter anyways," she finished, back turned to her family as she set the dishes to wash themselves in the sink.

"He takes what people like you say about him to heart anyways. He'll never accept me. Not when he knows that he can hurt me," Tonks mumbled as she stalked out of the room.

Ted was just about to race after his daughter and argue with her that they'd never said she couldn't be with him but one look at Andromeda's closed face put an end to that plan.

Torn between the first and second loves of his life he sighed and silently sent his own dishes to the sink.

"You don't approve do you," he asked his wife, sitting back down at the table and pouring both of them a glass of wine.

"Do you?" she replied and Ted frowned.

"We've always told Dora to have an open mind about things," he replied slowly only to force a small grin, "I guess we should have know that it would eventually come to bite us in the butt."

Andromeda gave her own small smile.

"What are you thinking?" she asked after a long comfortable silence.

"I don't know," Ted finally concluded, sighing a bit sadly, "I just don't know."

* * *

Suffice to say, that was the last of Dora's visits to her parents for a while.

Ted and Andromeda never spoke to each other about it although they did send a letter to her one day inviting her for dinner once more.

They didn't get a reply and Ted could only hope that her daughter still thought about them like they did for her.

And then in June 1997 they had another thing to worry about: The death of the Headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore. The rumour around the country had been that Severus Snape had killed him, that he was working for the Dark Lord and among the inner circle, they knew that he was also a member of the Order of the Pheonix. Snape was someone their daughter had been working with.

Sick with worry, Ted and Andromeda had sent out another letter asking if she was alright and if she wanted to talk about it they'd be right here. Ted tried to get the point across that they still cared for her and that she was still their daughter, werewolf boyfriend or not.

Surprisingly enough, whatever magic Ted had worked in the letter had worked because Tonks sent a letter back the next day saying she was fine if not a tad depressed but she seemed to have finally gotten through to Remus. The letter ended with the simple line: "Dumbledore would have been happy to see a bit more love in the world."

Ted and his wife re-read that sentence a good fifty times before Ted offered a suggestion and Andromeda, a bit grudgingly, agreed.

And Ted wrote the letter, inviting their daughter once more to dinner with them on Sunday only this time he added the one simple sentence: "We'd like to meet him."

* * *

That Sunday had been surprisingly anti-climactic. Remus was not what Ted had been expecting. Far from it. He had imagined someone with wild hair, metal in his face and a terrible attitude with obeying the rules. Someone who resembled his daughter; a rebel.

It that was what he was hoping for then he got just the opposite. This Remus Lupin that his daughter thought so highly of didn't look like much; a bit tall and much too thin and the greying streaks in his hair made him look older than Ted gave him credit for.

But, soon, Ted started to see why his Dora loved this man. Upon entering the house he gave a polite smile and a firm handshake. He offered to set the table and engaged in intelligent, engaging conversation during the meal. He spoke truthfully about his condition without any signs that he wanted pity and, thin as he was, didn't take more than he was offered (although Andromeda forced him to eat another plate anyways). He had a good sense of humor, sarcastic wit and he was a great story teller. He was charming and intelligent and he was, what Ted thought, everything a man should be...if you ignored a certain furry little problem.

But it wasn't just that. Tonks seemed to be practically glowing. Her pink, vibrant hair was back and the shine in her eyes whenever they met Lupin's made Ted realize that this was serious. Tonks was the total opposite to what Ted had been given on her previous visit. This wasn't the depressed Auror on the verge of tears from before. This was the rebellious, Weird Sister loving Tonks who didn't give a shit about what society thought about her. The _real_ Tonks was back.

And that had been Lupin's doing too.

_"There's no such thing as a perfect man,"_ Ted realized near the end of the meal as Lupin helped clear the table, _"But Lupin. Lupin's the closest we're ever going to get."_

"Right, who wants something to drink?" Ted asked and Tonks leaped to her feet in eagerness.

"I'll get the Butterbeer!" she said as she ran down the hall to the basement stash of Butterbeer.

Ted had just barely managed to sit back down and start up another conversation when they heard the horrifying crash of Butterbeer falling out of their cases and rolling down the corridor.

"It's alright!" Tonks' voice shouted from down the hall, "I've got it...Ouch! Bloody bu-"

Ted sighed. He guessed his Dora would always be the clumsy one, depressed or not.

But what surprised him more was how Lupin politely excused himself from the table and followed the source of the noise.

After a few more seconds, Ted followed.

He got there just in time to see Lupin replace the last few Butterbeer bottles into the case.

"You didn't have to get up Remus," Tonks said a bit embarrassed.

"Course I did. If I didn't you'd manage to fall down the stairs or _worse_," came the reply, "What happened in that second part anyways?" he asked, eyes evident with concern.

"Oh, I was reaching down to pick one up and I bumped my head on the door that's all," Tonks said with a blush.

"Does it hurt?"

"Oh come on now Remus it was just a little bump," Tonks started but then she seemed to get an idea.

"Why don't you kiss it better?" she asked rather seductively.

And to Ted's surprise, Lupin didn't laugh at how silly Tonks was being; didn't ignore her completly; he didn't comment at all really.

Instead Lupin wrapped his arms around Ted's daughter and gave her a delicate kiss on the temple.

"Better?"

"Hmmm, do it again," Tonks said as she moved to bury her head in his shoulder.

Lupin kissed her again.

"One more time?" Tonks asked and Lupin's face broke out into a grin.

"Certainly," he replied as he got out of Tonks' embrace, lifted her chin slightly and gave her a full out kiss on the lips.

Nymphadora Tonks was kissing a werewolf in the middle of the Ted's corridor and by the look of pure bliss in his daughter's eyes was enough for Ted to put all things aside and give a small smile at the couple.

But that smile soon faded when he realized that they were taking an extremely long time for this and so, ever the overprotective father, Ted decided to make his presence known.

The slightly forced cough was enough to make Remus and Tonks separate in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, the sudden separation caused Remus to back up so quickly that he tripped over the case of Butterbeer still sitting innocently on the floor and pitched backwards, falling head first down the basement steps.

Tonks surprised shout was muffled when she looked almost ashamedly at her father but Ted could only smile.

"Well go on then. That sounded painful. I'm sure he'd want you to 'kiss it better'" Ted said as he grabbed the case of Butterbeer and turned to walk back down the corridor.

And his smile turned into a grin as Tonks' face lit up and, with a triumphant shout of delight, she raced down the basement steps at breakneck speed after her boyfriend.

When Ted got back to the table with the grin still plastered over his face Andromeda gave her husband a raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry. Everything's fine," Ted reassured, handing his wife a Butterbeer.

"What are you thinking?" she asked after a beat and Ted sighed.

"I'm thinking…." Ted started with a thoughtful look in his eyes, "That this Lupin fellow doesn't sound too bad and if our hard-headed daughter really thinks he's the one..." Ted frowned into his half empty bottle before giving a shrug and a wide grin, "Well we're gonna have to invest in a nice, sturdy wedding dress. One that can withstand a few tumbles mind you."

* * *

Reviews are again greatly appreciated!

The Chocolate Alchemist may review again as well :P


	3. Arthur Weasley

Arthur Weasley was not really what Remus considered a friend. More like an acquaintance or a companion but he was a good man. Always willing to help someone in need which was probably what made him such a good father.

Arthur Weasley did not consider Remus a friend either. He was more like a co-worker or, at times, a mentor, always giving advice when Arthur needed it. Remus listened to Arthur's stories, talked to him about mundane subjects during dinner and, if they ever met in the halls, they'd give each other friendly waves but that was the extent of their "friendship".

He was not like Sirius who would bully Remus to eat properly and patch him up after full moons and he was not like Snape who would sneer at the werewolf and saw to publically humiliate him.

He was somewhere in the middle. He respected Remus, werewolf or not, and treated him like he would treat any other. Being the father of seven children he would have been a hypocrite if he didn't. And these were probably the reasons why Remus came to him for this particular predicament.

He didn't think any less of Remus for being a werewolf and….he was married.

So when Remus had come to him one day after supper at Grimmauld with hesitation in his eyes. Arthur had calmly set aside his wine glass and waited for the man before him to continue.

"I…want to propose….to Tonks" Remus started hesitantly and Arthur's heart had felt tremendous pride and joy at the news.

"I need help finding a ring," Remus went on quickly with a tint of color on his cheeks, "And….maybe…you could tell me…."

"How I did it?" Arthur went on with a broad grin at Remus' surprised expression before he nodded and stammered, ""I figured it would be a good idea to ask you since Sirius can't leave the house and you're….married…"

Arthur laughed.

"Well Remus you've come to the right man!" he said pulling out a chair and beckoning for Remus to sit.

"Well, for starters…."

Arthur could have talked for hours had it not been so late. Remus was indeed a good listener for he didn't interrupt once, not even to point out that Arthur was getting them severely off topic but, finally, as the clock struck midnight, Arthur and Remus agreed to meet up to go fetch a suitable ring for Tonks.

"Oh and umm," Remus said as he set the wine glasses in the sink, "could you umm, not tell Molly yet?" he asked and Arthur gave another laugh, "Well, I don't see why not. Tonks will say yes no matter what. She loves you Remus. Even an old chap like me can see that!" he said excitedly but in the end he promised to keep his lips sealed anyways.

* * *

"Alright Remus, what kind of ring we looking for?" Arthur asked as they entered one of the few jewellery stores in all of Wizarding Britain.

"Gold," he answered with a shrug, "I don't think I can afford platinum," he mumbled a bit sadly and Arthur nodded. To be quite honest he found it hard to believe that the rather poor werewolf had enough money to pay for a gold wedding ring but he said nothing.

Apparently, the people in the store thought the same thing. Several obviously more well off customers even gave the shabby werewolf glances as if suggesting he didn't belong and had no right to be here.

Thankfully, Remus chose to ignore everyone around him, instead peering intently into the glass case housing several of the store's finest jewellery.

"What do you think Arthur?" Remus asked and Arthur bit back the comment that he thought that the jewellery in that case was a bit out of Remus' price range. Instead he too leaned closer to examine the beautifully crafted accessories before him.

"Those look nice," Arthur supplied, pointing vaguely to a few rings in the corner before something in a different case caught his eye. A simple gold band, inlaid with alternating diamonds and rubies. The stones gleamed in the artificial light that filtered through the casing, passing through the diamonds and refracting off the surface of the rubies to give off a warm welcoming shine. Looking at it, Arthur immediately thought of Tonks's vibrant hair, warm smile and gleaming personality. It would be the perfect ring and surely Remus would think the same. But then Arthur noticed the price and his heart plummeted.

_"There's no way on Earth he can afford that!" _

"Remus…." Arthur started slowly, and Remus looked over at him, "What's your price range?" he asked and Remus shrugged.

"It doesn't really matter," he replied and Arthur looked at him. The Weasley family was by no means a rich family. With seven children to take care of, Arthur's job just barely made ends meet for all of them. Where was Remus getting his money from? The only job that he'd been aware Remus had at the moment was making anonymous submissions to various magazines and surely that alone could not be enough to purchase a ring of such magnitude.

Either way, he imagined Remus always safe with his money, not buying too much or unnecessary things. To hear that the cost of something "didn't really matter" wasn't something a man of Remus' economic standing should be saying...

"Why?" Remus asked, still looking a him and Arthur fidgeted uncomfortably. Would telling Remus of his find only depress the man?

With a sigh Arthur made up his mind, he figured it would only be worse if Remus found out about the ring later on and got angry at him.

"How about that one?" he asked, pointing to said ring and Remus followed his gaze.

They stared at the ring in silence and Arthur looked at the man beside him. Something was flickering in those eyes as if Remus wasn't sure if it was worth so much money and Arthur flinched. He should have never mentioned it.

"It's perfect," Remus finally breathed and Arthur turned his attention back to the man with his face pressed up against the glass.

"Absolutely perfect," Remus finished with a huge smile that made him look years younger and Arthur smiled back.

"Ah. I take it you've found something you'd like?" A wizard from behind the counter asked causing the two men to jump slightly.

"Yes. What can you tell me about that one?" Remus asked, pointing to the desired ring.

The wizard behind the counter looked confused, eyes flickering over to Arthur for a second before re-gaining his composure, "One of our most finest rings. The gold is of course 14-karrot and each stone has been cut to precision by the most skilled of goblins."

Arthur winced. Goblins were the most skilled in all forms of craftsmanship, especially gold. They'd crafted Godric Gryffindor's sword for crying out loud and it was a fact that anything touched by goblins were the finest pieces of work ever created.

Unfortunately, the world's finest also meant the world's most expensive.

"I'll take it," Remus said, cutting into Arthur's thoughts and the wizard at the counter had an expression of shock that mirrored Arthur's.

Thankfully, Arthur managed to regain his composure much quicker to the other man who stood gaping at the shabby werewolf before him like he was mental. He gave another glance over to Arthur. He must have thought that _Arthur_ was the one making the purchase.

"Don't look at me," Arthur said in a light mood, "he's the one getting married," he supplied, pointing in Remus' direction who was still busy staring at the ring in awe.

The other wizard nodded before taking the ring out of the display.

"Of course. Follow me sir," he murmured as if he still couldn't believe that such a poor looking man could afford something of this magnitude.

To be honest, Arthur didn't blame him; he couldn't quite believe it either.

"Hold on Remus," Arthur said, grabbing Remus by the arm before he could follow the employee.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Arthur went on a bit hesitantly.

"What's the matter? You don't think Tonks will like it?" Remus asked with a rather panicked expression.

"No. No. She'll love it," Arthur assured him.

_"After she's done killing you for just throwing your life savings away for her I'm sure she'll love it," _Arthur thought to himself.

"That's the thing though. She'll love anything you give her. You probably don't need to even give her anything and she'll still accept it because she loves you for who you are. Not what you can or can't afford. Do you really think buying something so...expensive...is such a good idea?" Arthur asked with a frown but Remus shrugged out of his grasp with a sigh.

"I always thought I'd live my life alone. I never thought there could possibly be anyone who would love...well...someone like me..." Remus started, not turning to look at Arthur.

"And then I met someone who actually _wanted_ to be with me even though she knew what I was. She considered me a friend and treated me like a_ person_. She'd stand up for me in a crowd and pound someone into the dirt on my behalf and I wouldn't even have to ask. She chased after me for a whole damn year and I didn't do anything but break her heart time after time."

Remus took a deep breath before finally facing his companion.

"I _love_ her Arthur. I'd do anything for her; I'd give my _life_ for her. I'm sure you know what it's like," Remus continued, giving Arthur a fixed stare and the man in question sighed.

Yes, he _did _know what it was like. So who was he to berate someone else's decision? Especially if that decision would lead to the happiest and most wonderful moment in anyone's life.

"Of course I know what it feels like," Arthur murmured as his mind flashed back to his own proposal so many years ago and his face broke out into a warm smile.

And Remus nodded at him with a grin of his own before rushing back to the wizard behind the counter and bringing out a rather large bag of coins.

The wizard stared at the bag in surprise before dumping it out onto the counter for counting.

Once all the formalities were done and Remus had the small box of precious mineral in his pocket, the wizard finally had come to his senses over the seemingly bizarre purchase from this man and offered the duo a genuine smile.

"The woman must be very special to you," he said and Remus gave him a smile.

"You have noidea."

* * *

The morning after that saw most of the Weasley family gathered once more at Grimmauld. An Order meeting was planned for that day about how to get Harry safely out of his home on Privet Drive.

As Order members slowly filled in there was constant chatter as some of the children made friendly welcomes and the grownups talked amongst themselves.

Moody was always going on about constant vigilance and now that with Snape on the Dark Lord's side many people were wary of using the Black home as a meeting spot but Sirius had insisted that he and Remus had spent the past week re-doing new protective spells.

"Relax Mad Eye, even if they were to attack we'd be long gone before they got through those wards," Sirius said, handing McGonagall a glass of wine in passing.

Arthur chose to stay away from the gruff Auror instead choosing to sit beside Kingsley Shacklebolt who he hoped made for friendlier company.

He had just started another interesting conversation about the growing trend Muggles liked to call Internet before Sirius' rather deafening shout of surprise.

"HE DID WHAT?"

Followed by the tell tale crash of a glass slipping from surprised fingers to the floor.

The room was silent as everyone turned to face the man who had spoken as he gaped at the woman with the shock of pink hair who stood in the middle of the kitchen with a scowl on her face.

"He _proposed_ Sirius. Couldn't you have waited until he'd woken up before you go and announce it to the bloody world?" Tonks asked, crossing her arms and frowning at her cousin.

"MOONY'S MARRYING _YOU_?" Sirius went on, he probably figuring that since the cat was _already_ out of the bag...

"You got a problem with that?" Tonks demanded and Sirius held up his hands in defence.

"No! Merlin! Course not! This...this is unbelievable! Amazing! Screw that it's bloody brilliant I tell you!" Sirius said, grabbing his cousin and giving her a shake.

"What's so bloody brilliant that you're making yourself heard all the way up on the third floor Padfoot?"

Everyone's attention turned to the man who had just entered the room trying to smother a yawn as if he'd just woken up.

Noticing several people openly gawking at him Remus paused mid yawn and slowly closed his mouth with a nervous expression.

"YOU!" Sirius shouted, running over and trapping Remus in a one armed hug that was strangely reminiscent of a chokehold, "You're so bloody brilliant Moony!" he went on to Remus' totally confused expression.

"...huh?" Remus managed to ground out before his eyes caught the stunning image of his fiancé before them.

His eyes then drifted down to the sparkling ring on her finger and recognition seemed to dawn over his face.

"That was supposed to be the wedding ring," Remus said a matter of factly as he struggled out of his best friend's grasp.

"I know," Tonks replied with a cheeky grin before she ran up to him and wrapped his arms around his neck.

Arthur hid his smile behind his wine glass as Remus' face turned as red as Tonks' hair.

"This is good practice don't you think?" Tonks asked him as she claimed his mouth in hers.

Ron was gaping at them in shock, McGonagall was smiling, Alastor was scowling and Hermione and Ginny had leapt up and given huge cheers.

Arthur and Kingsley had given quick glances to each other before leading the room into a round of applause and as the two separated Sirius came romping by again.

"Welcome to the family Moony!" Sirius shouted over the noise as he slung his arms around the couple.

"umm...thanks..." Remus mumbled, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Reminds us of when we were young," Molly said and Arthur turned around to face his wife.

"Are you saying I'm not young?" Arthur asked in mock offence before giving a grin and kissing his own wife on the lips.

_"Remus will do himself good,"_ Arthur thought as he heard Ron's distinct complain of "Daaaad!"

"Come on Remus! You can't go and stand for that!" Sirius shouted as Arthur and Molly separated.

"I'm perfectly fine with it!" Remus protested, his face once again beet red as Tonks laughed.

Arthur chuckled a bit himself as Remus' eyes met his own and he gave the embarrassed werewolf a wink.

Remus tried to reply with a rather embarrassed smile as Kingsley loudly proposed a toast for the couple.

And Arthur felt immense pride and happiness for the werewolf still by the kitchen door with his soon to be wife beside him and he allowed himself a small smile.

_"Welcome to the world of marriage-hood Remus. It's gonna be hell but you can do it,"_ Arthur thought to himself as he raised his glass along with everyone else in the room.

_"And you know why? Because you **can**."_

_

* * *

_

Review!

And that's enough romance and sappiness. Next chapter expect some more angst and it'll probably be longer...


	4. Nymphadora Tonks

"You did that on purpose didn't you?"

_"I don't know what you're talking about Remus."_

_"Don't play dumb Dora. You purposely got up before I did and wore the ring downstairs to show it off."_

_"Well what did you want me to do? Stuff it in my pocket? Something like this has to be worn you know? I still can't believe that you spent so much money on this stupid little thing!"_

_"….Do you like it?"_

_"Of course! I absolutely adore it! Just because it's expensive doesn't mean it isn't beautiful! Just you wait Remus. We're gonna get married and I'm gonna show this off to everyone and scream to society that they can go fuck themselves-"_

_"….I would really rather you didn't…especially at work…."_

_" And I'll never take this off-"_

_"….What about showers? I would rather it not go rolling down the drain…."_

_"Because this is proof that I'm married to the most amazing man in the world and there's nothing anyone can do about it!"_

_"….are you done?"_

_"Yes. Quite. Thank you love….were you saying something?"_

_"…Have I ever told you how much I love you?"_

* * *

A few months later, thunder clashed in the sky overhead when the doorbell rang at the Tonks residence.

Nymphadora Tonks, daughter of Andromeda and Ted Tonks and wife of Remus Lupin opened the door to find just the man she had been expecting.

"Hey," Remus mumbled somewhat unintelligently as he stared at his shoes, the rain pounding onto his back as he faced his wife.

Tonks glared.

"Hey? _Hey?_ You leave me and your unborn child so I have to bloody move back in with my parents and all you say is _hey?"_ Tonks shouted and Remus seemed to look even more miserable, not looking up to meet her glare.

"No. It's just that...if I were to say I'm sorry...I don't think that'd be good enough," Remus mumbled which only caused Tonks' anger to rise.

"Damn well it's not enough. I thought you _loved_ me Remus. How could you just get up and ditch me like that?" Tonks demanded, "If your damn insecurities make you jump ship then I don't think this marriage is gonna work!"

Remus looked up, shocked. He knew Tonks would yell and probably blame him for everything but he hadn't expected her to just write him off like that.

_"She won't forgive me,"_ Remus thought as he felt his heart plummet.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out anyways, "I know I was being selfish but I just thought that the baby wouldn't rather have me around. I was leaving for everyone's best interest," he pleaded he wanted nothing more than to run to her and hold her in his arms but he stood in the pouring rain, just outside shelter as if rooted to the spot.

"I was selfish," he repeated, "I didn't think about your feelings or the baby's I just figured no one would want a werewolf for a father. I thought that'd you be better off without me,"

And then he saw it. He saw Tonks' angry, fierce expression, no tears were leaked on his behalf. But what mattered more was Tonks' hand clutching the doorknob with an iron grip. And the fingers on the hand.

They were empty.

There was no ring on Tonks' hand.

Remus' breathing quickened, bordering on panicked.

The sign of their marriage, the symbol of their eternal love. It wasn't there. She must have taken it off to tell him that she would never forgive him. That their love was now officially void and, panic attack already beginning, Remus stared at the ring less hand before screwing his eyes shut.

Tonks had noticed Remus' eyes widen, tears threatening to spill over and she tilted her head to see what he was obviously distressing him more than his angry wife.

And she saw it too. Her hand bore no ring. With a gasp her head whipped back to her husband who was standing there with his eyes firmly closed as if in concentration.

Instantly she figured out what he was going to do.

"REM-"

But Tonks was cut off as a loud BANG echoed through the house and her husband disapparated before her very eyes.

* * *

"REMUS!" Tonks shouted, hand reaching for the man that had been at her step a slip second ago.

_"What have I done?" _

Tonks continued to stare out the door in horrification before a voice called her back inside.

"Dear? Are what happened? Are you OK?" Andromeda's voice rang out from the living room before careful steps were heard padding towards the door.

"Where's Remus?" her father asked and with those two words Nymphadora Tonks burst into tears.

"He wasn't supposed to leave!" Tonks wept, running up to her father and throwing her arms around him, "I was supposed to yell and rage and scream at him for hours and he was supposed to stand there and look all guilty and miserable and then I'd forgive him and he'd look surprised and say he loved me and then I was supposed to smile and say I loved him too because I _do_! I still do and I'll love him forever. I love him so much it _hurts_ Dad!" Tonks cried, clutching onto her father and bawling like a baby.

"There there," Ted comforted, totally confused but knowing that his emotional (and a bit hormonal) pregnant daughter would rather he say words of comfort than ask further questions.

"I only took it off for a second! I was going to put it back on I swear!" Tonks continued, "But then the bell rang and I just forgot about it because it was Remus. I knew it was Remus and isn't he more important?" Tonks demanded and Ted dumbly nodded, confused but not wanting to get on the bad side of his daughter just yet.

"I have to go after him!" Tonks said finally detaching herself from her father and looking like she had every intention of running off after her husband.

"It's full moon tonight!" Andromeda called and Tonks paused, eyes widening as she had totally let that fact slip her mind.

"Not to mention the weather is atrocious! You shouldn't be apparating in your condition anyways and you haven't the faintest clue where he is!" Andromeda scolded and Tonks let her anger lose on her mother.

"So what do I do? Just sit here and be the damsel in distress? It's not like before mother!" Tonks shouted, tears streaming down her face, "this time," Tonks voice faltered, "...I don't think he's coming back."

And it was true. Before, she had known that Remus would come back. Had expected it and waited for it and vowed that after some words she would forgive him and hug him senseless. It was supposed to be a happy ending. Or at least as happy as it could be with a Dark Creature for a husband and a world at war.

The ring...or rather the _lack_ of ring, had not been part of the plan and Tonks cursed her own stupidity. This was all her fault and she couldn't even do anything to fix it!

"Your mother's right Dora," Ted said a bit sadly, "You can't go after him now. You'd only make it worse if he hurt you while in that...form..." Ted said and Tonks sighed in defeat. She knew she couldn't win, not when her mood swings and emotional state was falling to pieces around her. Not with this weather and certainly not on this night.

"We'll go to his flat first thing in the morning," Ted said giving Dora an encouraging smile which Tonks didn't have the heart to return.

"How do you know he's gonna be there?" Tonks asked and Ted frowned, "I haven't known Remus for very long Dora, but I have faith in him that he won't be anywhere where he could harm others," Ted said, nodding to himself as if congratulating himself for admitting that small simple truth.

"Now come on, let's have some ice cream before bed," Ted went on, wrapping an encouraging arm around his daughter's slumped shoulders.

Tonks sighed in defeat, giving the landing one last look before slowly letting the front door slip closed.

Her mind told her to be thankful to have such accepting parents who would do anything for her when she was down.

But another part of her was telling her that it was supposed to be _Remus'_ arm on her shoulder, Remus' voice saying soothing comforting words to her and Remus' face giving a smile and telling her how much he loved her.

_"This is all wrong."_

* * *

Remus was running, head bent low as the rain pounded him and roared in his ears. The fierce wind cut through his thin cloak but Remus ignored it.

His natural instinct was to flee, to just get out of there and quit making a fool of himself, spouting nonsense Tonks obviously did not want to hear.

It was all his fault. He should have never left. She didn't want him anymore. She'd moved on and accepted the fact that he was not right for her. Who would love a monster like him? Not only were there physical dangers but the social dangers were not something a mother would want for their unborn child.

And what made matters worse was that he'd known that. Known it for years and yet after so many people had told him that being a werewolf didn't matter; that Tonks would love him no matter what; he'd cast aside his insecurities in a moment of weakness only to have received a slap in the face in return.

And upturned tree root had Remus crashing to the ground, his mouth tasted mud and for a moment he just lay there. Maybe if he was lucky he could just fucking die and never have to worry about this shit again.

And then he felt an odd sensation creeping up his bones, a dull ache and shivering that could not be attributed to the cold.

He spat out the mud and laughed humourlessly. He'd quite forgotten about the full moon that was set to rise at any moment now.

"How ironic," he muttered, looking up at the sky and letting the raindrops splatter onto his face.

As much as he'd love to just stay here in the grass and forget about everything Remus heaved himself to his feat anyway. He couldn't stay. Staying would mean not only endangering his own life but lives of other people should they happen to be nearby.

_"She doesn't want me anymore,"_ Remus thought to himself and self loathing and bitterness reigned dominant in his mind. He remembered this feeling, almost savoured it. He'd only felt so hopeless and useless once in his life before.

And that had been around sixteen years ago when Dumbledore had so easily stated that all his friends were either dead or in prison and Remus would have to spend the rest of his life alone.

Back then the full moon had been but a distant memory but now it was so close; too close.

The wolf was breaching the surface and it fed on Remus' inner hatred, demanding he let it lose and for once in his life, Remus thought the same thing and allowed it.

Just not here.

Sirius would most likely be waiting for him at his flat but he doubted that the dog and a handful of protective charms would be enough for the rage of his inner demon.

And so, screwing his eyes shut he apparated to the Shrieking Shack.

Upon arrival he slowly slumped to the ground, he was drenched and severely uncomfortable but his mind was a flame with his thoughts.

"What good am I?" Remus whispered to no one in particular, "Harry and Sirius were wrong. She doesn't want me; Doesn't need me; She'd be better off without a thing like me. So would the rest of this damn world."

The moon had no doubt risen and Remus began his usual convulsions in the seconds before the actual transformation.

"If this is what I want. Why does it hurt so much?" he cried out hatefully before all human sense disappeared and the savage beast from within sprung loose.

And as the great werewolf reared its head back and gave off a howl full of sadness and self loathing, it was unaware of a large black dog watching mournfully from the shadows.

* * *

Tonks couldn't sleep.

Or at least, that's what she had firmly told herself as she sat stubbornly on the couch, waiting for moon set and the bloody rain to stop.

But, the days' stress and misfortune had made an impact on her and, try as she might, she'd found herself following into a thick troubled sleep.

She was awoken at around three in the morning by a deafening BANG and she sat bolt upright on the couch as her parents rushed out from their bedroom into their living room.

"Dora?" Ted asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes before freezing at the sight before him.

"What happened Tonks?" Sirius asked, eyes reflecting sadness and pain but Tonks paid him little attention.

Instead, she was transfixed at the sight of the man Sirius was carrying.

In Sirius' arms, Remus Lupin's limp, bleeding body was about as pale as the moon itself. Fresh cuts gleamed on his face and his breathing was harsh and irregular. Bandages took the place of a shirt as they were covered around his torso, no doubt Sirius' work. The bandages extended further to cover Remus' entire arm which Tonks thought was hanging at an odd angle as if it was disconnected from the body. The arm was probably the worst injury for it was already starting to bleed through; blood trickling from the limb down to the fingers before finally falling to the ground and getting soaked up in the rug.

As Sirius and Ted carefully moved the limp werewolf over to the couch Tonks was still preoccupied with her own thoughts and gapping in horror at the sight of her husband.

"A few broken ribs. His shoulder's dislocated. I don't know how to fix it," she heard Sirius mutter bluntly and Ted and Andromeda nodded.

"I'll get the first aid kit," Ted said, rushing out of the room once they'd put the werewolf down and finally, Sirius turned to his favourite cousin.

"What happened Tonks?" he repeated and Tonks looked down at her feet, rapidly blinking back years..

"Did he say anything?" she whispered and Sirius suddenly looked very tired.

"When he didn't show up at the flat I knew something was wrong. In the end I found him in the Shack but by the time I got there he had already started," Sirius went on, gaze slightly averted as if he couldn't bear to see the sight of his best friend half dead on the couch across from him.

"But I heard some things," Sirius continued, "He said..." Sirius' voice faltered before he shook himself, "He said 'She'd be better off without a thing like me. So would the rest of the world," and at last Sirius raised his gaze to meet Tonks'

"He was trying to kill himself Tonks," he said firmly, anger and silent mourning evident in his eyes, "Even I couldn't stop him. He ripped a hole through the wall and hacked himself to pieces. By the time I got back the rain had practically flooded the place and there was blood everywhere…." Sirius trailed off, briefly squeezing his eyes shut as if to block the images from his mind.

Tonks herself felt bile rise to her throat but she forced it down.

"It's all my fault," she whispered as silent tears began to flow, "I was yelling at him and saying all those terrible things and I took off my ring. No wonder he ran off. He thought I didn't love him anymore…." Tonks trailed off as Sirius wrapped his arms around her.

"_Do_ you love him?" Sirius asked suddenly and Tonks looked up at him, expression suddenly fierce.

"Of course I do!" Tonks almost shouted causing Andromeda and Ted to look up at the pair.

Tonks would have continued if Sirius' face hadn't suddenly broke out into a grin.

"That's my girl," he said with a wink as he let go of her to step aside.

"You better make that clear to that idiot over there though," Sirius went on, nodding to Remus on the couch. "And I'd better go. I've stayed too late as it is. Don't want you guys in trouble because someone saw me hanging around here."

And with a quick nod of thanks to Andromeda and Ted, Sirius apparated out of the house with a bang.

* * *

It took almost an hour to get Remus patched up enough to be properly moved. Tonks had never felt so useless as her mother dabbed healing salve on the cuts that littered Remus' frame and Ted took to sealing up the larger ones.

And it wasn't just the external injuries. After a night of being pelted with wind and rain that had managed to make their way into the Shack, Remus caught himself a raging fever that left his body sweating but wracked with chills.

Several times his body unconsciously tossed and turned, trying to get more comfortable on the stiff couch only to be pushed back down and forced to settle as Andromeda set cracked ribs.

And the shoulder was a nightmare. Not knowing how to properly treat it, Ted had decided they should just push it back into place.

Which was a lot easier said than done.

In the end Andromeda and Tonks held Remus down as Ted repeatedly struck the shoulder at what they hoped was the right angle.

After what felt like ages they heard the sickening grind of the bones being forced together before the shoulder popped back into is socket.

Tonks was briefly thankful that her husband was already unconscious for the sheer agony of such movement would have made him pass out anyway.

And finally, wounds closed up and blood replenishing potion consumed, Remus' thin frame was wrapped up in fresh bandages before Ted and Andromeda carefully carried the prone werewolf to the bedroom.

"Put him next to me," Tonks had insisted and both parents gave a nod, not arguing or even saying a word at the order.

When Remus was settled and Tonk's parents had left the room to catch a few more hours of sleep, Tonks was finally alone.

Tonks sat on the bed for a while, listening to the sudden stillness in the house. It was silent apart from her husband's troubled breathing as his body still fought to combat the fever within it.

His body had curled up into a vague foetal position with his back turned to her and Tonks wanted nothing more but to flip him over and look into his face, see the love in his eyes and feel his lips on hers.

She wanted Remus to hold her in his arms and feel his breath tickle her ear. To hear his voice speak of his love for her and smile that warm, wonderful smile that he did every morning.

But after a few minutes of just watching her husband breathe, Tonks heaved a heavy sigh before climbing into bed herself.

It wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't perfect.

But it was enough.

And when Remus thrashed around in sleepy delirium in the midst of a nightmare, it was Tonks who held him close, hand running though his hair and gentle soothing voice telling him that it would be alright.

Then Remus' fever clouded eyes opened, eyes not quite seeing the world around him and mind still fresh with images of his inner demons.

He was rambling now, convulsing from fever and pain from his wounds as his body jerked roughly in Tonks' embrace.

"She doesn't want me. She doesn't need me. I'm useless. Pathetic. Harry was wrong. I'm sorry. So sorry. Selfish. That's what I am. This is what I want. Why does it hurt so much?"

And throughout it all Tonks held on firmly, arms wrapped around her husband's torso as her he rambled on, senseless to the world around him.

"Shh. It'll be Ok Remus. I'm here."

Tonks repeated those words over and over again until her husband finally settled, breathing erratic but sleep finally beginning to pull him back down from hysteria.

He moved his head to the side. And Tonks saw the silent mourning, sadness and longing that flashed through the werewolf's eyes.

_"This isn't right,"_ Tonks thought as she continued to sooth the man in her arms, _"**He's** supposed to comfort me; to tell me that everything's going to be OK because **he's** here."_

Remus had relaxed under her embrace by now and his eyes had drooped to sleepy slits.

Tonks held on regardless. She was willing to be the anchor tonight and damn, maybe for the rest of her life is she had to. She certainly owed it to him.

_"This is all my fault."_

It was her fault for taking off the ring after she'd promised to never take it off. It was her fault for yelling at him and frightening him off when his face already showed that he so obviously sorry.

"I'm sorry," Tonks whispered into his ear and Remus gave a soft, unconscious mewling sound like a sleeping child.

And Tonks liked to think that he had heard her and the reply was of forgiveness as she brushed aside sweaty bangs with her fingers.

Remus always forgave; maybe not in his heart but he'd never say it out loud and it used to frustrate Tonks to no end.

But now she clung to that thought. Clung to_ him_ because if he didn't forgive her than how was she ever going to forgive herself?

The questions and accusations swam in her head and she closed her eyes briefly to try and silence them, if not just for a moment.

Silently she lay back down on the bed, arms still wrapped around her husband, clutching at his pyjama shirt with an iron grip as if she was afraid that when she let go he'd disappear once more just like before.

"I'm so sorry," Tonks repeated tearfully as she too fell asleep.

* * *

_"Warm."_

As Remus' mind cut through the thick veil of unconsciousness he was dimly aware of a feeling of warmth.

He was lying on something much too soft to be the hard wooden floor of the Shrieking Shack and was that _light_ trying to penetrate his eyelids? Why was there so much light in the Shack?

He didn't want to find out. He preferred this dream-like state over anything else the world had to offer.

He tried going back to sleep but the light was persistent and it wasn't long before he felt something shift beside him. Only then was he aware of a slight weight on his chest and he realized that there was something pressed up against his back…..

Or some_one_…

Hope sliced through Remus' heart like a dagger and slowly he opened his eyes, wincing slightly as the bright sunshine blinded him. How long had he been asleep?

When his eyes adjusted he found himself lying on a bed, and the breath caught in his throat as Remus realized _which _bed he was on.

It was her. It had to be her. No one else in the world would be so close.

"Dora," Remus whispered, the simple word slipping past his lips. It sounded so good and Remus' heart constricted painfully when he realized that he would never be allowed to say those words again. She wouldn't want such a name to be said by the likes of him.

Not after what he'd done.

But her arm was wrapped around his body, hand loosely clutching to his the front of his shirt and Remus could feel the other one pressed up against his back.

If she didn't love him anymore then why was she here? Why was she clutching to him like a lifeline? Why had they brought him to her room in the first place?

The questions swam in Remus' find and finally, curiosity got the better of him and, carefully so as not to upset the sleeping person beside him, he slowly turned over in the bed.

His aching body protested at such movement and Remus bit his lip to muffle a cry as raw wounds brushed against their bandages.

But as his eyes landed on the one person he thought he'd never see again he swore he stopped _breathing_.

He was transfixed at the sight before him. Although her hair was a miserable brown and tear tracks had dried on her cheeks leading up to puffy eyelids, Tonks was the most beautiful person Remus had ever seen.

He knew he was starring and quickly looked away but try as he might he found himself being drawn to her anyways. Her very existence was like a beacon of hope shining out to him and he was paralyzed by her beauty.

_"She's so peaceful when she sleeps," _Remus thought to himself as he swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat.

He longed to hold her in her arms and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. When her eyes lit up he was spellbound to the sight and when she laughed his whole being filled with warmth and happiness. She was everything he wasn't; she was confident and proud and just so bloody _wonderful _that Remus couldn't help but be mesmerized by her everything she said and did.

He was filled with absolute need that he didn't know what he was doing until he'd already done it.

Slowly, his good arm reached over to brush a stray strand of hair and it was that gentle flicker of hair that Tonks' eyes snapped opened and her grip on him instantly tightened.

Remus froze, eyes widening to the size of saucers as he realized what he'd just done.

A week ago such an action would have made him smile but now was different. Now she didn't love him. He had no right to be here. Sirius had probably found him in the Shack and taken him here by accident and Tonks, never one to be seen as rude to a friend and cousin, had probably taken him back in out of pity.

It was then that he realized his hand was still hovering over Tonks' face and he quickly pulled it back.

"Sorry" he managed only his voice was rough from disuse and fever and the word came out as nothing more than a croak.

A coughing fit interrupted all further attempts at coherent speech.

"You still have a fever," Tonks said, tenderly placing a hand on Remus' forehead much to his surprise.

"Don't look at me like that," Tonks scolded and Remus flinched. He should leave. They'd patched him off well enough and it would no doubt be best if he got out of here before Tonks went into a rage.

But when he tried to move the grip Tonks had on him only tightened further.

Fleeing didn't seem possible at the moment and Remus braced himself.

"You're an idiot Remus Lupin," Tonks went on, voice getting progressively louder as she continued, "A bloody frickin idiot! You're so damn stupid and clueless it's laughable that we're actually married," Remus felt the grip around him tighten further and he could do nothing but stare helplessly at the face lying mere inches from his own.

He'd been expecting insults and yelling but that didn't make it any easier when it came so hatefully from the woman he loved.

"Just because I said your insecurities are all messed up doesn't mean you have to shoulder the burden all by yourself!" Tonks went on angrily and Remus, now wholly confused, looked hesitantly towards her.

Tonks noticed the flicker of uncertainty flicker in Remus' eyes and she heaved a sigh, desperately trying not to refrain from yelling and scaring him off once more.

"Look. I admit I was angry at you but you running off a second time didn't really help much did it? "Why couldn't you just wait a little bit? I just came out of the bath then you know! I took the ring off because you always said it'd be better if it didn't go rolling down the bloody drain! And when you left-" Tonks bit back a sob as her mind flashed back to that moment only a few hours ago.

"I stayed up all night worrying over you after that and when Sirius brought you back I thought you were _dead _Remus. You were so pale and lifeless..." Tonks trailed off as a lump formed in her throat and she fought to keep it down.

Remus himself was beating himself up. He'd been an idiot. _Again._ And Tonks had suffered for his assumptions. Was that all he was good for? Being a burden to people and making others cry?

"I'm sorry," he rasped, "It's all my faul-"

"Shut up!" Tonks interrupted, "I don't want to hear that shit from you! It's not just your fault. It was my fault too. We're both to blame so it cancels each other out now stop blaming yourself. I'm not having an argument over whose fault it was."

"But-" Remus protested but Tonks wasn't finished.

Your insecurities get the better of you. You beat yourself up too much. You think too little of yourself. You're a damn mess Remus!" Tonks argued, she couldn't look at him, couldn't bear to see the guilty image that her husband was no doubt displaying; if not externally then internally.

Instead, Tonks buried her head in her husband's chest, feeling the warmth from the fever but at the same time finding comfort.

"But you know what?" Tonks mumbled into his chest, "If I could do it over again I'd still chose you. You're a mess yes but doesn't mean I don't still love you," Tonks continued as she hugged him even harder, "Idiot werewolf or not you're my husband. I agreed to marry you for a reason you know? I love you. I did back then and I still do now and I'll continue to do so fifty years from now. And you what Remus? You can't do anything about that."

Remus stared at the mop of brown hair clutching him with no intention of ever letting go.

There were no words to describe how he felt at the moment. It was like he'd been repeatedly broken and then miraculously fixed. Like a teetering tower that had crumbled at Tonks' first word and slowly repaired itself through the course of her "speech."

He was neither proud nor humiliated; neither ecstatic nor depressed.

But if he was to describe this wonderful yet terrible experience it would be that for once in his life he felt whole. It was wonderful that his wife forgave him yet terrible that he had caused her so much hurt to get to this point but then the grip around him tightened even more and Remus' attention went back onto his wife.

"Just promise me one thing," Tonks muttered, face still pressed flush against his chest and Remus nodded. Anything. Anything she wanted he would do. He owed her so much that nothing was impossible anymore.

Tonks' voice dropped to a whisper at her husband's nod, "Promise me you won't do that again," she asked. She was terrified of the thought that he wouldn't be able to promise such a thing. That he would have to leave eventually if their child wouldn't accept him. She didn't want to lie awake at night wondering if her husband would be there when she woke up. Her grip around him tightened even further, fears that if she let go he'd leave resurfacing.

"I promise," Remus finally said, coughing slightly to get his voice away from its croakiness, "I'll stay as long as you want me to."

Tonks shook her head harshly against his chest.

"You say that but then it'll just turn out like last night. You stay until _I_ tell you to go. Not when you _think _you should go."

Remus paused a bit, turning this information into his head before nodding.

"Alright. I'll stay until you tell me otherwise."

Tonks nodded slightly before squeezing harder.

"Good. Because I _want_ this kid Remus and it's going to want you too. Just you wait."

Remus opened his mouth to argue only to be interrupted by a hacking cough.

With a groan he buried his head back into his pillow.

Arguments could wait. Right now he had the most precious person in the world in his arms and that was more than enough.

And deep down he admitted that he _did _want this kid. Just the thought of it made his head spin.

_"It's not going to be like me. I'll try my best to be the best father possible and maybe. Just maybe. It really will love me as much as Dora says it will..."_

And with that thought his mind reverted back to his current situation and he nudged his wife slightly with his arm.

"Dora?" he asked a bit nervously.

"Hmmm?"

"...Can't breathe..."

With a laugh Tonks finally released Remus from the iron like death grip her own insecurities had affected on her.

"Sorry," she mumbled with a smile, "What to get food? It's past noon."

"I think that'd be good."

And a few hours later as Andromeda and Ted got back from work, they found Remus curled up on the couch, sleeping off the rest of the fever as Tonks poured over a book of baby names. His head rested on her lap as she absently stroked her fingers through his hair.

But what really made both parents hearts warm were the small unconscious smiles that the two Lupins had on their faces.

And they knew that everything was just the way it should to be.

* * *

Ugh. Longest chapter ever. I had to snip out a lot of dialogue so I guess you could say that the scene changes were kinda abrupt...

I've come to a conclusion here: I like to injure the men in my fics o.0 But I also like happy endings so I guess it balances out :P

And if you'd be kind enough to leave me a review you'll get a cookie! :P


	5. Severus Snape

Severus Snape was not a man of fear.

To be quite honest he was usually the one who_ induced_ fear. He took sick fascination when he was able to make a child jump from freight and he prided himself on successfully threatening others to do his bidding.

And that was probably what made him a good Death Eater.

Or at least, it was made him _appear _like a good Death Eater in the eyes of the Dark Lord himself.

So. as Nagini slowly crawled up towards him Severus showed no fear. He kept his face emotionless as it slithered up his leg and bared its fangs to deliver its deadly bite on his neck. He knew there was little chance of suriving this war and had accepted it. But he couldn't help but wonder if anyone would ever know the truth behind his motives.

Probably not.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A flash of green light blinded him and Snape's eyes flew open. His first thought was that Voldemort had gotten tired of his snake's slow movement and decided to finish off the job himself.

….But would he really still be thinking if that was so?

Suddenly, in the blink of and eye, Nagini fell to the floor and Severus whipped his head around in confusion. Even Voldemort looked shocked.

Someone grabbed him, dragged him away and his legs took the few stumbling steps to a corner of the room.

And then they were falling and Snape, mind still unable to keep up, landed heavily on his back.

The wind knocked right out of him Snape heard a roar of rage from above them and a pulse of green light shone through the floorboards above him. Whatever enchantments the Shrieking Shack had, it was enough to keep the spell at bay for now but Snape didn't have the time to think about it before someone pulled him upright.

"Come on come on!" a voice urged and he scrambled to his feet.

That voice was familiar…..

Someone grabbed his shirt collar and practically dragged Snape down a flight of steps. His footing was clumsy and he would have fallen several times had it not been for the person holding him up.

They barged through the staircase and suddenly a small square of the floor shifted over revealing a secret passageway which Snape soon found himself flung into.

He landed on his face and tasted blood but everything was happening too fast and his brain was just getting over the fact that he was simply _alive_ to be able to process anything more. They weren't in the shack anymore. They actually appeared to be in a passageway leading out from under it. Above them he heard no doubt Voldemort shouting orders out to Death Eaters.

"Damn it Severus snap out of it!"

Someone grabbed him and shook him and Snape finally snapped out of it, gathering his wits back up. Who was the person who had just saved his life?

Tall, thin, greying hair…

"Lupin," Snape hissed and he saw obvious relief in Remus' eyes.

"Good. Now come on. We have to go." Remus urged, grabbing Snape by the wrist and hauling him away.

"Why-?" Snape started only to almost slam into Lupin as he skidded to a stop.

"In here," Lupin said, wrenching open a door at the end of the passage.

"What-"

"Come on!"

"Lupin!" Snape shouted, not liking to be interrupted.

"Shut up and run Severus!" Lupin called back and Snape almost tripped over his feet. He'd never heard the mild mannered werewolf shout at anyone before.

"Look. You're an asshole Snape." Lupin growled and Snape's had to remind himself that the full moon was still a bit more than a week away. "You make my life hell. I hate your guts and I don't think I'll ever forgive you for blabbering my status to all the students that year. You screwed it up with Lily and boy can you hold a grudge but you know what?" Lupin shouted before finally giving Snape a look from over his shoulder as the pair ran.

"The Shrieking Shack is _mine_. It was built _for_ me and it was built _because_ of me and like hell I'm having your pathetic ass making it your final resting place. Not when people still need you," Remus shouted over his shoulder before focusing back on putting as much distance between them and approaching Death Eaters as possible.

Snape stared at the back of the werewolf's head for a while in apparent shock before he heard the tell tale swish of cloaks descending on the pair.

He turned his head and over his shoulder he saw two Death Eaters running after them and behind them was none other than Lord Voldemort himself, magically flying overhead with a look of pure hatred on his face.

"Shit they're fast," he heard Lupin mutter and the grip around Snape's wrist tightened.

"In here."

Snape followed Lupin through a small door.

"White squares only!" Lupin shouted and Snape looked down, making sure to only step in the white squares that littered the new hallway.

"Ladder."

Up the ladder they went and when they reached the top they dived through a small hole in the wall and came out the other side.

"Please tell me you know where we're going," Snape muttered as he got quickly back to his feet.

"Of course Severus," Lupin said with a tint of pride and Severus raised an eyebrow before following the rather energetic werewolf through the obstacle course underneath the Hogwarts grounds.

This was a different Lupin. This wasn't the polite, meek werewolf he'd seen in '93 or even the timid, shy Order member. This Lupin was the strong, energetic, _capable_ man he'd seen during their school days. He had a glint in his eye of confident concentration, a spring in his step and the very air around him was different; more refined. It said that Lupin was in charge and he wasn't going to take shit from anybody, especially Snape. Not now. He was better than that.

Suddenly a huge crash was heard and Snape's heart beat doubled as he turned around, fully expecting the entire Dark army at their heels.

"Over here," Lupin said urgently, wandlessly moving aside a stone statue and revealing a path behind it.

Snape followed. The Death Eaters were close, the sound of the explosion had only been a few feet away at most and he didn't dare check over his shoulder in case he saw the furious expression of Lord Voldemort right on his heels again.

"Dive!" Lupin suddenly shouted and Snape looked up. He was barely able to avoid the moving rock wall that was coming down to block their path. Skidding underneath it Snape realized he wasn't fast enough and the offending barrier just managed to nick the edge of his cloak, effectively trapping it.

With a curse Snape quickly took off the garment and on they went. Snape ran after Lupin through a variety of passageways and holes in the floors. He clambered up ladders and jumped over pits. Once he was forced to dive out of the way of a bewitched suit of armor and several times, enchanted weapons were thrown at him from secret compartments in the walls.

The walls shone with a self-luminous charm no doubt worked into the very fabric of the corridors when they were built several hundred years ago. Nevertheless, they were old and only gave out a soft glow of white light but Snape had a feeling Lupin didn't even need the light to make his way through this place.

He was always secretly amazed him whenever Lupin opened up another passageway with a wave of his hand or when he effortlessly jumped over gaps at heights that made Severus' skin crawl. Several times he was certain that he would fall to his death only for Lupin to grab him by the collar and practically fling him the last few feet.

Not to mention that, after what Snape swore was the fiftieth ladder and the hundredth hole in the wall he was certain his legs would turn to jelly and his heart would burst from over exertion.

And yet Lupin was still clambering up ladders and leaping off edges and it frustrated Snape to no end. As thin and sickly as Lupin always looked he was a lot more fit than Snape would have imagined.

It was making him feel old.

Bloody hell, he was only a few months older than the damn werewolf and at least he didn't have grey hair!

"You don't have to wait," Snape snarled when Remus waited for him to clamber up a stone ledge.

The werewolf raised an eyebrow as he ducked through a turret.

"And how exactly would you get out of here if I didn't?"

"Well what if I don't want to get out of here? I didn't _ask _to be saved Lupin," Snape snarled in reply.

"_You_ of all people can't go telling_ me_ that," Lupin replied with a fire in his eyes that Snape had never seen before.

"You always said I was a pathetic werewolf who would never amount to anything. You honestly want a lowly man like me to outlive you _Snivellus?" _Lupin said and Snape, too tired to think of a good insult only glared daggers at the man's back.

"Push that brick in will you?" Lupin suddenly asked and Snape looked over to his side where his eyes settled on a brick that was sticking out much too awkwardly to be natural.

He quickly pushed it in without a moment's thought.

He might hate Lupin's guts but he was trustworthy...and Snape would never say it out loud but Lupin really was the only hope he had of getting out of here alive.

Slowly the stone floor of the corridor started to give way and Snape's eyes widened as the stones fell away into a black abyss below.

Another explosion echoed through the cavern behind them and Snape winced.

"Follow me," Lupin shouted over his shoulder and, to Snape's surprise Lupin jumped down into the empty void below.

Snape took a deep breath. He wasn't scared. He wasn't going to back out now and, resisting the urge to squeeze his eyes shut he plummeted into the huge gap below.

And Snape was falling, not a few meters, or a few feet but what he thought was good enough for almost ten stories. The rough stone floor, littered with sharp rocks came rushing up to meet him and Snape felt panic for the first time. The speed he was falling indicated that surely if he landed amongst that rubble the impact alone would be enough to kill him...or at least injure him...and that was also hoping he didn't impale himself on the rocks first...

Then, someone grabbed him by the arm and Snape gave a sharp intake of breath as his body stopped its acceleration with a jerk. Had he been falling any faster and Snape honestly believed his shoulder would have popped right out of its socket at the sudden stop.

"What? Don't trust me?" Lupin asked with a smirk and Snape resisted the urge to strangle the person before him.

Lupin was holding on to an iron beam that ran the length of the pit as if it had been placed there on purpose and Snape resisted killing the man only because part of his brain reasoned that should Remus let go of his arm or the beam itself it would not turn out favourably for him at all.

Still, he preferred the old, meek, timid werewolf over this new, nimble, cocky bastard.

"See the ledge to your left?" Remus asked and Snape glanced over.

"No," Snape replied, eyes searching for an opening in the stone wall next to him but finding none.

"Well I'll swing you over. Just try not to land on your face. Ready?" Lupin continued and before Snape even gave a reply Remus had flung him over to the "ledge." Or rather. _Into_ the ledge.

To Snape's total surprise, what should have been a rock wall before him suddenly disappeared and he landed somewhat awkwardly in a low ceiling room.

A soft thump told him of Lupin's more graceful landing a few steps beside him.

Snape surveyed the small room. There was nothing here. It seemed that Lupin had led them into a dead end and he turned angrily to the werewolf beside him only to be interrupted.

"Catherine?" Lupin shouted and Snape bit his tongue. Maybe Lupin was meeting someone here instead.

"Sister Catherine! It's me Remus!" Lupin shouted out and Snape looked around the small area for the signs of a person.

"There's no one here Lupin," Snape hissed only to be interrupted, "Come on! You remember me don't you? Moony? The werewolf?"

Snape stared at Lupin as if he'd gone insane before the tell tales sounds of female laughter filled the small room.

A small portion of the opposite wall rippled slightly before the rocks that had been there moments ago moved aside.

Upon closer inspection Snape realized that the "rocks" was actually a painting, embedded into the wall itself and a female witch appeared from behind them. She was dressed in an old, traditional English gown and had the air of a mother or nurse really... like Madam Pomfrey which was Snape's conclusion.

"Of course I remember you Remus. I just had to make sure you know?" the woman replied in a rich, sweet voice.

"Evening Sister," Lupin said almost too casually, "Do you think you could let us through? We're kind of in a tight spot as it is."

The witch sighed, "Why must you always get yourself into trouble?" she asked as the portrait swung open revealing yet another secret passageway.

Lupin gave a shrug and a wide grin as he pushed Snape through the entrance first.

"What can I say?" he said with a laugh, "Once a Marauder. Always a Marauder," he told the Sister before giving a wave of farewell and thanks before he too ran through the portrait.

And as Snape watched the werewolf catch up to him he caught a gleam of surprising happiness and pride.

And as they continued on, Snape suddenly knew where Lupin's energy was coming from. Remus' eyes shone as they leapt from landing to landing. For through the danger came excitement and Snape knew that it was because of this that the blasted man beside him had never felt so alive.

_"Always a Marauder indeed."_

* * *

"Up here," Remus said, pushing Snape towards a ladder after a few more minutes of running.

As Remus heaved the trap door open Snape looked around trying to regain his breath.

"We're in Hogwarts," he noted and Remus nodded, grabbing onto a chain that ran through a pulley and held a chandelier from the ceiling.

With one quick flick of his hand the chandelier fell to the ground causing the chain to tighten and lift the two wizards into the air.

As Remus' hand latched onto Snape's wrist his arm once more was almost pulled out of its socket at the sudden movement and almost effortlessly Lupin flung the two onto the top of a ledge several feet up.

"Come on. Let's get into the Astronomy Tower," Lupin said, bullying Snape to his feet before leading the way.

And just as they neared the bridge that lead the duo to the Astronomy Tower it suddenly exploded right before their very eyes.

"Don't stop!" Lupin shouted and Snape watched the man suddenly pick up speed before hurtling himself through the raging inferno.

Snape skidded to a stop as he watched Lupin's body leap through the air and crash into one of the Astronomy Tower's many windows on the other side.

Either way he skidded to a stop.

Looking down from the empty gap that a bridge had once been he noticed it wasn't the bridge that was gone. A good chunk of the Astronomy Tower had been taking out as well. If he didn't do this just right and land in just the right area he'd fall to his death.

_"Are you going to lose to me Snivellus?"_

Snape gritted his teeth, determination flaring as he took several steps back before charging forward and leaping through the gap.

But he was falling and to his dismay he realized that try as he might he couldn't quite reach the window that Lupin had jumped through.

"Lupin!" he shouted and, almost at his command he found his arm jerked violently upwards as the damn werewolf grabbed him through the window.

"What's this? Snape asking for help?" Lupin mocked and Snape shot the werewolf a glare.

"Just pull me up!" he growled.

Lupin gave a little shrug before heaving Snape through the window. When Snape had a pretty secure hold of the window ledge he shook Lupin's arm off and clambered in through the gap himself.

Remus didn't seem to mind as he fell to the ground with a rather satisfied sigh, chest rising and falling rapidly during his well deserved break.

Also breathing heavily, Snape peered down at the rather terrifying distance to the ground from their position with a grimace. After catching his breath and the adrenaline had died down slightly he made his way over to the form sprawled out on his back amongst the rubble.

His grimace turned into a full out frown as he took in the man on the floor, panting through his mouth like the dog he was, eyes full of good humor and wild adrenaline.

It made Snape feel sick.

"Why?" Snape snapped.

Golden eyes looked up at him.

"You could have killed Voldemort! You could have saved the wizarding world you pathetic werewolf! One spell! One chance! And you chose to use it on some worm instead of the Dark Lord himself? Why?" Snape roared furiously at the man still lying on the floor.

The man in question simply stared at Snape's furious expression for a few seconds before his face broke out into a huge grin. It surprisingly reminded Snape of his school days with the man as if the war wasn't happening right as they spoke and everything was right in the world.

"I saved your ass Severus Snape because I just fuckin felt like it." Remus told him with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes.

Snape stared at the man on the floor for a beat before turning away. Not bothering to help the other one up.

"Besides," Remus continued, "It's not my destiny to kill Voldemort."

Snape tensed at the subtle implication of Potter and turned back around to face Lupin who looked up at him.

"I think you owe Harry an explanation Severus."

"...How did you know?" Snape asked slowly as if not quite trusting such words out of his mouth.

Lupin shrugged and, finally having caught his breath, rose to his feet.

"Blame Sirius. I guess after the first time you accuse and get it horribly wrong when the second time comes, enemy or not, you start to think that things are more than they seem."

Snape stared at the man who offered him a wry smirk before another shrug.

"I should be going. I'm trusting you can handle yourself here." Lupin said before giving a wave and walking out the door to the room.

However, before he reached it he paused and gave Snape an almost accusing look, "And after all that effort you better keep your sorry ass alive you hear me?" Lupin asked sourly and Snape stared dumbly at him.

With a sharp nod Remus turned and went on his way.

"Lupin." Snape called out and the werewolf stopped half in and half out of the doorway.

"You had a son," Snape said, it wasn't a question, he knew. And he also knew that whatever change the man before him had taken since the last time they met was probably due to this one simple fact.

Remus said nothing instead giving his old schoolmate a grin that said it all.

"I promised that I'd protect them," Remus said, not bothering to refer to who "they" were. "I'm fighting for them. Winning this war means keeping them safe. And that's why we're going to _win_."

And with that he walked out of the room, leaving Snape to battle with a very difficult decision.

* * *

It took almost an hour to find Potter and his friends but eventually Snape managed to catch sight of them running around on the third floor. They looked a bit worse for wear from all the fighting but they were alive.

Snape didn't waste time. He dragged a surprised Potter away from the battles and into the nearest classroom where he shoved a small glass vial into the boy's hands.

"Take it," he growled as Harry stared at the man he'd seen in the Shrieking Shack barely an hour ago.

"...Professor Snape what are you-," Hermione squeaked only stopping when Snape turned to glare at the girl, "It should explain...many things..." Snape replied tersely, "Now go."

Potter seemed to get the idea fast enough and gave a determined nod as he beckoned his friends out of the classroom leaving Snape to his thoughts.

He really didn't give that boy enough credit...

Snape looked around the deserted classroom, several windows were broken and a good portion of the wall was seared by some unimaginable curse but it was probably the only place where Snape could find any piece as the war continued to rage on outside.

Voldemort would be looking for him no less. He thought he was the bearer of the Elder Wand and he would need that power to be able to achieve victory in this battle. Hopefully, Potter would be able to figure out the truth before Voldemort arrived at Snape's doorstep.

Snape gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe he had just put his life in the hands of Potter.

Severus Snape accepted help from no man yet within the past hour he'd received it from two. Three if you counted Potter.

He never expected Lupin to risk his life to come save him of all people.

But it wasn't only that. Whether he liked it or not it was in Lupin's nature to give even to those that gave nothing in return. It was who he was and Snape had to agree saving people's lives was more of a Lupin thing to do.

Although he never expected_ Black_ to think that he would have an ulterior motive; that he might actually have a good reason to kill Dumbledore in the first place. Maybe leaving your best friend to rot on his own for over a decade because of your assumptions made you think differently about things.

Snape shook his head. He wasn't innocent. He knew that and although his mind told him otherwise, his body held a deep fear that punishment would be given to his sins and he would not survive the rest of the battle.

But what was he supposed to do? He didn't want to stay here but he didn't want to go out and fight because who would he fight with? Voldemort's army was now his enemy and he doubted the students of Hogwarts would find him anything else.

He couldn't send out a Patronus saying "I am innocent!" for that'd be downright stupid and no one would believe him.

With a frustrated sigh Snape kicked a chair over and walked over to the window.

_"Just give it some time and you'll figure it out,"_ Snape thought to himself as he watched the battle unfold before him.

* * *

"Remus!" a voice shouted and the man whipped his head around, distracted momentarily from the battle.

He knew that voice...

"Dora?" he called out as the blob of pink hair moved towards him.

_"No! What is she doing here? She's supposed to be home with Teddy!"_

Remus was so preoccupied with his panicked thoughts that he didn't even register a spell aimed at him until it hit him square in the chest, sending him flying right off his feet.

A strong leg stepped on his stomach making Remus feel no better than trapped.

"Not so strong now are you werewolf?" a voice snarled as a red steak of magic hit its victim.

Remus gasped at the agony that spread through his body and tried to desperately reach for his wand lying only a few feet away.

Antonin Dolohov was no doubt a superb duellist and had Remus not been so preoccupied with his thoughts he might have stood a chance...

But certainly not _now_...

Dolohov, superb as he was, seemed to enjoy torturing his victims before killing them and he frowned disconcertly at the lack of pain that the werewolf before him was displaying.

"Oh don't try to be tough. It only makes things worse. You'll be screaming by the time I'm through with you," Dolohov growled.

"Sectumsempra"

Remus suppressed a cry as he felt his flesh cut away at the flick of Dolohov's wand. Blood spurted from the gap in his abdomen as Dolohov deepened the cut and spread it outwards like an infection sucking the very breath from Remus' lungs.

He coughed and was almost dismayed to find that his injuries were already enough to cause flecks of blood to spew from his mouth. The foot over his ribs pressed harder, the cuts got deeper and longer and Remus forgot about the wand lying a depressing few feet away and grabbed the man's boot instead, hands wrestling off.

But Dolohov simply sneered, slashed another wound into Remus' chest, rose his foot and stopped down hard.

Remus sucked in a pained breath but Dolohov wasn't finished for in an instant the boot was back, crushing Remus' ribs and pounding at his already opened wounds.

The boot struck him again and a small cry escaped Remus' mouth as he felt a rib crack.

He wanted to scream; to thrash; to curl up in a ball and cry but the wolf inside him reared its head, _"it's not going to stop,"_ it told him as Dolhov raised his foot to strike again, _"Unless you **do **something."_

The moon was still weeks away but Remus gave a growl that was no less than predatory and suddenly grabbed for Dolohov's ankle before he could be hit again.

Surprised, Dolohov faltered and his Sectumsempra finally lost its power. In a flurry of animalistic need for survival, Remus pushed himself up and tackled the Death Eater to the ground their limbs flailing as they went down.

"The problem with people like you is you don't know when to quit playing," Remus remarked with a rather surprising amount of wit giving his situation.

Dolohov, stunned for a few seconds at being overpowered suddenly made a slashing movement with his wand and Remus' eyes widened.

_"Dolohov's curse,"_ he thought to himself. The curse was powerful Dark magic. He'd heard that Hermione had been struck by it in '96 and they said she only survived because her Silencing Charm prevented Dolohov from saying the incantation out loud.

Remus didn't have his wand though and wandless magic was too complicated. Bloody hell even a punch required too much effort on his exhausted body and so, running on pure adrenaline, Remus did the only thing he could think of.

As Dolohov's wand glowed a sinister purple and his mouth opened for the first syllables of the incantation Remus shot the man a glare and in one fluid motion pounded his head onto the man's mouth; hopefully he shattered some teeth and a nose along the way.

The purple beam of magic shot out of the Death Eaters wand anyways and Remus was rocked right off his feet. Hitting the ground several feet away and rolling to a stop.

Instantly he could feel the spell come into effect; a searing, scalding pain that spread from his chest throughout the rest of his body. It felt like his body was on fire but Remus ignored it as he scrambled to all fours.

Blindly, Remus groped for his wand, limbs shaking at the effort of keeping himself from falling onto his face.

He felt warm, feverish and just simply in _pain_; blood from his wounds pooled around him and Remus hacked out another cough, breathing getting erratic as the curse spread through his system. A ruffling of fabric caught his eye and with dread he looked up.

And few feet away from him Dolohov had risen with a sneer on his face and this time, his wand glowed green.

"Just die you pathetic werewolf," Dolohov hissed and Remus, in a panic, forgot his quest almost instantly.

The wolf within him roared and before Remus knew what he was doing he'd crossed the gap between them in an instant and grabbed Dolohov's wrist.

"Fuck you."

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The two bodies hit the floor and for a while they stayed still until finally, with a shuddering gasp, one of them rolled away from the other.

As Remus lay next to the Dolohov's body, surrounded by his own blood he had a vague feeling that he was going to die.

_"Get up. Dora and Teddy are waiting for you,"_ a part of his mind told him but another part was congratulating himself on having taken the bastard down with him.

_"You're not going to die. You promised Dora you wouldn't die."_

Remus' breathing hitched painfully and he felt dizzy. If he wasn't lying down he would have fallen over at the first step. Everything hurt and he wished that he could just make the pain finally go away. Ever since he'd been a little boy he'd experienced pain in one way or another. Maybe if he just let it all go that pain would finally leave him alone.

With a hacking cough that sprayed the air around him with crimson drops Remus looked up at the stars above him. They looked so peaceful, unaffected by whatever was happening in the rest of the universe because to them, Earth was just one planet and Remus was just one man.

And that's when Remus realized what a nice day it had been.

_"Nice day to die don't you think?"_

His vision was getting hazy, pulling him into an almost peaceful sleep and then something moved; fluttered in his blurry vision and Remus' brain was awake enough to see it.

_"Pink."_

Turning his head in an almost dreamlike fashion his tired eyes settled on the shock of pink hair several feet away.

He blinked and then blinked again.

"Dora," he mumbled.

She was beautiful, she was a bit scuffed up and sweating slightly but her eyes blazed with fiery determinacy as she struck down Death Eater after Death Eater. She was surrounded by four but she showed no signs of giving up. Her vibrant hair boasted loudly to everyone that she was not to be messed with an in doing so would be subjected to punishment. Beautiful and deadly. Proud and strong.

Remus smiled.

But then something moved and Remus' eyes widened in shock.

_"Bellatrix"_ he thought but he couldn't find the energy to move.

Tonks was preoccupied with the remaining Death Eaters; her back lay unexposed to her aunt whose presence still remained unknown to the young Auror.

Bellatrix raised her wand with a sickening smile and levitated an iron spike from the rubble of the Astronomy Tower nearby.

"No! Move! Run! Dora!" Remus cried out but all that managed to escape was another cough. Tonks didn't see him; didn't hear his warning or sense the presence of another and Remus had never felt so helpless.

"What the fuck are you doing Moony? "Remus blinked could have sworn that was James' voice... or was it his own?

"You're a Marauder aren't you?" the voice argued and recognition dawned.

"Once a Marauder. Always a Marauder," he muttered to himself as he shakily got to his feet, determination and desperation blazing through him.

"I promised I'd protect you and Teddy no matter what," he rambled as he ran, stumbling and blind to his wife.

The hovering iron pole went flying to its target at the flick of Bellatrix's wand.

"And Marauder's never break their promise."

* * *

And Snape watched it all. From his position in the third story window of the castle he saw the werewolf charge forward into the line of fire. He winced as the iron pole impaled itself in the other man's abdomen with a sickening crunch and he heard the cry of alarm, sadness and rage in the rescuee's voice as said man's limp body hit the ground.

And as he watched the blind fury of Nymphadora Tonks take on her mother's sister in the name of her husband, Snape gritted his teeth and grabbed his wand before running out the classroom.

Oh the stupid things you do for the people you hate.

* * *

Sorry this was out so late. Never expect anything on the weekends. Way too much stuff to do -_-

So yeah, if you've gotten this far leave a review!

Oh and I'm thinking of editing _A Year to be Remembered _with the proper page breaks in the first 19 chapters (because they were seriously pissing me off) -_- If they pissed you off too then expect a re-released edit version some time...in the far off future...


	6. Andromeda Tonks

Andromeda Tonks held her teacup with trembling fingers at the kitchen table. Waiting was not one of her strong points but with both Remus and her daughter off fighting it was her job to protect Teddy...and keep on protecting Teddy should the two parents not return...

Quickly she shook her head and took a sip of her tea that had long since gone cold. She wouldn't be able to bear such thoughts. She had already lost her husband. Would she be able to bear it if she lost her daughter as well?

With a frustrated sigh Andromeda set the cup down. She desperately wanted to turn on the wireless but she knew that should she get distracted she was endangering both her life and the life of her grandchild.

_"I'm a grandmother now,"_ Andromeda thought to herself. The wonder of such sentence had not yet passed in the month that Teddy was born.

She didn't know what to think about Remus Lupin, the werewolf that her daughter had fallen in love with and married.

She had thought the man nice and charming but there was always something wrong. She just couldn't get over the fact that he was a werewolf.

When Ted had been around she had voiced such fears but Ted had told her that they were so obviously in love that there wasn't much that could be done.

And then he left her...

Andromeda had felt rage towards the man, anger and violence had been her first thoughts when her daughter had tumbled into their house tears streaming down her face.

_"He left me mum. He doesn't think he's good enough."_

But he had come back and made up, surely Andromeda could forgive him now...right?

Andromeda sighed.

"I just want them to come home," she whispered to herself. She might not have preferred her daughter marrying a werewolf but if only one came through the door at the moment she wouldn't know what to do.

She wasn't a fool either. Teddy was not even a month old. He needed parents to guide him, to encourage him in ways only parents could. Essentially he needed them more than she did.

"Just please come home. Both of you."

And suddenly the fire in the grate in the other room roared to life. Andromeda jumped in her seat and the teacup crashed to the floor.

She ignored it, leaping to her feet and taking out her wand at the intruders only for them to walk into the kitchen.

Two people.

She felt relief, happiness and joy as she saw her daughter emerge from the doorway.

"Nymphadora," Andromeda said, relieved as she ran over to hug her daughter but that feeling was wiped clean when she noticed the other man behind her. Half draped in shadows Andromeda realized with a lurch in her stomach that the man wasn't Remus Lupin, husband to one Nymphadora Tonks. The man was Sirius Black, cousin and friend.

_"No."_

"Your sister is dead," Tonks said without the feeling that one would expect when delivering such news. Andromeda looked at her daughter's vibrant pink hair and determined eyes and realized that some part of the Auror was still desperately trying strong, unwilling to let anything affect her for the sake of another.

_"For Teddy,"_ Andromeda thought as she nodded at the news of her sister's death. Strange, she didn't feel lost or sad; just...numb...but was it really from her sister's death or someone else's?

"Is Teddy still in his room?" Tonks went on and at Andromeda's nod she strode out of the kitchen with a mask of authority and climbed the stairs to the bedrooms.

Andromeda felt her heart break for her daughter seeing the ghost of someone that was once beautiful.

"What happened?" she asked, rounding on her cousin. Sirius had the face of dead man and he flinched at the demand.

"We won!" he said bluntly but Andromeda knew that wasn't enough, "But?" she questioned.

"He's alive," Sirius quickly countered , sensing his cousin's distress.

Andromeda didn't believe him. If he was alive why did her daughter look like he wasn't? Why wasn't he home? Why wasn't he with her?

"But..." Sirius went on, fidgeting uncomfortably, "We don't know how longs he's going to last."

Andromeda could tell that such words made Sirius' mouth dry. She couldn't believe what it must have felt like to just admit out loud that your best friend was going to die.

"Then why is she home?" Andromeda asked. She had a feeling that her daughter would have stayed vigil by his bedside should anything come up, home or no home her _husband_ was _dying_.

"He told her to," Sirius said, taking vague interest at a tile on the floor, "he said that she shouldn't make you and Teddy worry."

Andromeda was no doubt surprised at this news. A dying man was telling his wife to leave him to make sure their son and her mother was safe.

he chose her decisions carefully before giving a determined nod, mind made up.

With two flicks of her wand her cloak drifted in from the hall closet and the teacup on the floor repaired itself.

"I want to see him," she said and Sirius looked at her, surprised.

"What?" she asked when Sirius did nothing but stare.

"Nothing," Sirius said, abruptly looking away and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Andromeda raised an eyebrow and her cousin finally caved.

"It's just...I thought you hated him," he mumbled.

Andromeda looked shocked and Sirius hastily tried to make amends, "well not _hate_ hate but...well...Remus says you're always distant when he's around. Like you're not comfortable with him or...something..." Sirius finished lamely and Andromeda sighed in resignation.

"I will admit that when I found out Remus was a werewolf I was terrified for Nymphadora's safety. Werewolves are Dark Creatures and especially in times of war they can't be trusted. He would deceive her, lie to her and then throw her away. I was sure that he would hurt her and he _has_, not physically, not yet, but _socially_," Andromeda lectured with a firmness in her voice that made Sirius wince, feeling like a first year being lectured by his own mother.

"Now take me to him," Andromeda continued, throwing her cloak out over her shoulders and Sirius looked up at her, eyes once more surprised and confused.

"But. You just said-"

"He may be a werewolf," Andromeda cut in curtly, "But he is my _son_."

And with that, Andromeda Tonks strode out of the kitchen.

Sirius stared, gaping at the retreating back of his cousin. Why were all the Tonks' so strong headed?

It must run in the family.

"Dammit Moony. You'd better live through this. Or your mother in law's gonna make sure there's hell to pay," Sirius muttered as he ran after her.

* * *

They arrived by Floo in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts and Andromeda was shocked to see so many patients. The injured and weak were lain out on beds as nurses from St. Mungos bustled through the small aisles. And was that a _centaur?_

"Not here," Sirius muttered as he gently took her arm and lead her away from the wounded.

Silently the pair walked down the row of patients and into Madam Pomfrey's private office.

Andromeda briefly noted that the usual desk and bookshelves in the room from her own stay at Hogwarts were gone. Instead was a table full of potions and a bed.

And on that bed lay none other than Remus Lupin.

Andromeda's eyes widened slightly as she took in the limp form of her son in law. They had stripped off his shirt and it looked like Pomfrey had done her fair share of work already for many of his cuts were already sealed.

What made Andromeda's insides churn however was the iron beam jutting out of the werewolf's stomach, just a few inches to the left of his naval. The beam had already been cut to shorten its length. No doubt such a long pole would wreak further havoc as they tried to move him so shortening it was ideal but to Andromeda it still looked foreign.

She knew it wasn't supposed to be there. She knew that the few feet of iron was the main cause for her daughter's distress. She wanted it gone. But wouldn't that just hurt the man more?

"He still awake?" Sirius asked in a low voice and Andromeda was only then aware of another person in the room.

Severus Snape lurked by the potion table steadily pouring and mixing ingredients together into small glass jars.

Snape gave a terse nod and Sirius went over to kneel by the bed. Andromeda was vaguely surprised that there had been no sneers or glares thrown. Nymphadora had always said the two men hated each other.

"Hey. Moony. Still with us?" Sirius asked shaking his friends shoulder gently.

Groggily Remus turned his head to the noise but Andromeda could tell his mind was elsewhere. He looked right past Sirius and didn't respond to anything as his eyes closed once again to half slits.

"It's no use Mr. Black. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference between you and a Hungarian horntail at the moment," a woman's voice said from the doorway and the three occupants in the room turned.

Madam Pomfrey gave a welcoming smile to Andromeda as she strode past her towards her patient who had closed his eyes. Andromeda watched as his breathing slowed only to hitch in pain and his eyes re-opened. Remus was too in pain to sleep yet not in _enough_ pain to pass out.

"You should give him some Sleeping Draught," Sirius said but Pomfrey shook her head, "We did but I'm afraid that the other potions might have reduced the effect," she said a bit sadly.

"Severus is the potion complete?" Pomfrey asked and Snape nodded, holding up a bottle with a silvery liquid inside.

"You're going to do it now?" Sirius asked much to Andromeda's confusion.

"If we don't remove the beam now then he will die." Pomfrey said sternly and Sirius flinched at such a blunt description.

"But he's still awake."

"I don't think he will be for long," Pomfrey went on, taking the potion from Snape and coaxing Remus to open his mouth.

"We'll have 5 minutes before the potion begins to work," Pomfrey said as if lecturing medical students. "Thankfully the beam missed his spine. The potion will heal the majority of the internal damage but it'll take energy away from the patient. We need to remove the beam before the potion goes into effect. Simple enough yes?" she asked and Sirius nodded looking like he would give anything than having to pull an iron beam from his best friend's stomach.

"Sirius. If you don't want to do it-" Pomfrey said gently, noticing the man's distress but Sirius shook his head.

"No. I can do this," he said with the determination that brought a small smile to Andromeda's face. She was used to this Sirius. The unmovable rock that would boldly do what no others dared to.

"Very well. Mrs. Tonks, you may stay if you like but it'll be very...messy..." Pomfrey said but Andromeda shook her head. She didn't know why but she wanted to stay by her son in law's side as if to make up for Nymphadora's absence.

"I'll stay," she said, moving to the side wall so as not to get in the way.

Pomfrey gave a frown but then a nod as she poured the potion down Remus' throat.

The werewolf gagged at the potion, body tensing abruptly.

"Remus. You have to relax," Pomfrey said urgently, holding his head down with a hand.

"Pull."

And Sirius pulled. Andromeda watched as a strangled cry broke out from the drugged werewolf's lips. No doubt it hurt like hell but Sirius' strength was enough for the beam to ever so slowly dislodge from its occupant.

Remus' back arched off the bed, eyes huge as he bit down on his lip as if to stop himself from crying out. Never the less, he thrashed and convulsed and his leg came close to almost kicking Sirius in the face.

"Hold him down," Pomfrey commanded and Snape and Andromeda ran over and grabbed each side of the werewolf's flailing body.

"It'll be alright Remus," Pomfrey said, holding his head down.

Remus didn't seem to hear her as he strained against his bonds. His face had turned pale and sweaty as inch by inch Sirius pulled the beam out. Andromeda almost wanted to let go of the man so that he could have the satisfaction of thrashing out. She refused to look at the beam or the gaping hole that it was no doubt making. So concentrated on her task at hand, she was only vaguely aware of her hands and cloak being soaked in blood and she didn't even draw the connection that the blood was _werewolf_ blood .

Finally, after what felt like hours, the beam was pulled out with a sickening lurching noise that made Andromeda's stomach churn uncomfortably. Remus' chest heaved sending a fountain of red spewing from his mouth as his body convulsed from the removal of the object.

Madam Pomfrey quickly wiped away the blood before pointed her wand at the gaping hole left in the abdomen and a jet or crystal clear water shot out, spraying the hole to ward off infection as they closed the wound. As the water hit him Remus let out another cry, eyes squeezing shut as he gasped in air through clenched teeth. He almost instantly went back to biting his lip but as another jet of water hit him he couldn't quite muffle the hiss of pain that escaped.

Andromeda secretly wished that he would just pass out. Surely that would be a better alternative than having to withstand all this pain and muffling his cries so as not to disturb others. In his drugged up state, Andromeda had to wonder what unconscious part of the werewolf's brain was even bothering to care about such trivialities...or maybe he wasn't as drugged up as they thought he was...which really only made things worse.

"Bandage him up," Pomfrey said with a rather relieved sigh and Andromeda took a brief glance at the wound. It was raw and jagged and Andromeda felt bile rise to her throat as she realized that she could actually see the bed sheet through the other side.

Quickly she turned away taking vague interest in a scar on the werewolf's arm instead. She vaguely wondered how it had gotten there and absently traced it with her finger. It was only then that she realized how scarred his body actually was and had he always been so thin?

By the time Andromeda was done thinking about life as a werewolf and the impact it would have on one's life Sirius and Pomfrey had sealed, cleaned and dressed the wound and Snape had made the subtle implication that they should check on Harry.

Sirius had nodded, not looking Snape in the eye and Pomfrey had ushered the two men out of the room. She gave Andromeda a question look but before she could voice her thoughts Andromeda had already conjured up a chair.

Silently the trio left the room leaving Andromeda to her thoughts.

Remus had by now curled up into a foetal position, lying on his good side. His breathing had slowed but his eyes were still squeezed tightly as if to help him concentrate on the simple procedure.

"Remus?" Andromeda asked quietly as the silence in the room finally became too much for her to bear.

Remus didn't respond. Maybe he couldn't hear her. Maybe he didn't know that she was even here in the first place.

Andromeda was hit with a strange sense of _"what am I doing here?"_ before another part of her mind told her, _"For Nymphadora."_

"You're not very smart are you," Andromeda said out loud, ignoring the fact that she was essentially talking to herself, "You told my daughter that she should go home and now look at you. I bet you're regretting it now. You want her don't you Remus?"

No reply came from the drugged werewolf but Andromeda ploughed on regardless, "Well she wants you too. You should have seen her face when she showed up in the kitchen. I was about to think that the world was coming to an end or something. And then I saw Sirius..." Andromeda trailed off with a helpless look in her eyes as she looked at the figure on the bed. She probably sounded like a fool talking to herself like this but some things needed to be said and Andromeda had been waiting for too long for her to hold it in any longer.

"I'm going to be honest with you Remus. When you first walked through my door that night for dinner I was fully expecting a loathsome man. I was expecting metal on the face, ripped jeans and a foul attitude. A rebel. Like Nymphadora only worse. And I'm going to admit that I thought you'd be worse because you were a werewolf," Andromeda frowned at this admission but eventually went on.

"But you were polite and kind and you treated my daughter like a lady, like someone very precious to you and I appreciated that. My husband seemed to accept you a lot faster that I did though. But eventually I thought to myself that since there are bad wizards and there are good wizards in this world, surely not all werewolves had to be bad. After admitting that I started to see you in a better light, if you can call it that. I watched you with Nymphadora I found out just why my daughter fell in love with you. You're a pretty easy man to love Remus, whether you admit it or not," Andromeda said with a faint smile only for it to turn into a frown.

"But you sure don't make it easy," she continued, voice bordering on scolding, "Do you know why I allowed my daughter to marry you?" Andromeda asked, pausing as if she actually expected a reply.

When she received none she continued, "I had vowed to always keep my daughter happy so as not to repeat the same mistakes as my parents before me. You were so obviously Nymphadora's choice. You made her happy in ways that I'd never even seen before and I liked it." Andromeda admitted.

"It was nice to see you make her laugh at dinner, smile in her sleep and make jokes about 'furry little problems' so I cast away my insecurities and thought that as long as Nymphadora was happy, we would work things out. I'm sure you were thinking the same when you asked for her hand. Which reminds me, that ring you bought for her? It was lovely," Andromeda trailed off with a small smile only for it to fade.

"And then you left," she said almost sadly.

"I can't say I forgive you. The state Nymphadora was in all week was terrible. I had vowed to keep Nymphadora happy and safe. I had passed that responsibility on to you. It had taken a while but at that time I had trusted you. And then you left her..." Andromeda stared at Remus' face. His breathing had evened and he looked like he'd finally managed to fall asleep despite the pain from his side.

"Nymphadora said you would come back but I didn't believe her. I was kicking myself. I should have known you were just pretending. It was all a show. You were a fake. You _would_ toss away Nymphadora when the going was tough. I had planned that if you did come back I would refuse to let you into the house. I would send you packing and forbid you from ever coming near my daughter again...but then I realized how much Nymphadora needed you...and quite honestly. We need you too," Andromeda told the sleeping body.

"Teddy needs a father. Sirius needs a friend. Snape needs an enemy. Nymphadora needs a husband and even I. I need a son," she said with a sudden surge of strength in her voice.

"You can't go dying on us Remus. I refuse to have a son who met his death over a few feet of iron and a purple curse. You need to prove me wrong. That werewolves aren't just savage beasts that throw others away like trash. You need to make Nymphadora happy. And as long as she is happy, I am happy," Andromeda said determinedly.

Remus made a soft whimper in the back of his throat but otherwise did not respond to Andromeda's speech. Andromeda herself didn't really care. She just felt so much better having gotten everything off her chest for once.

She had vowed that she would not forgive him for ever leaving and endangering her daughter. Yet with this strange gushing of emotions only a few seconds ago she found that forgiving him was much easier. She'd just admitted his strengths far outweighed his weaknesses; that there were more positives of him staying with her daughter than of him leaving her. And now that she had admitted it, it was far easier to accept it.

The bare line was. She had forgiven Remus Lupin.

Not only that but she suddenly found faith in him to survive this.

Maybe this was what Nymphadora had experienced when she was asked to leave when Remus was coherent enough to speak his thoughts.

She had left because she had faith in him to survive; so that they would meet again, re-shape their lives and build a future together.

So, with a satisfied sigh Andromeda Tonks gave the werewolf lying before her a warm smile that he would not have seen anyways and walked out the door.

* * *

The next few days were hectic. With Pomfrey so busy with patients she had left Snape in charge of Remus' potions and Nymphadora in charge of notifying her should something go wrong.

Andromeda was put on baby-sitting duty as she usually helped rock month old Teddy to sleep at the foot of Remus' hospital bed.

Tonks had managed to wedge herself into bed beside her recovering husband, constantly raking her hand through his hair as he slept.

He'd been in and out of sleep for the past five days. Once he'd given Tonks a smile during his waking period but very rarely did he stay awake for long.

He was taking almost ten potions every other hour and they no doubt left him feeling weak and tired after their administration.

When Tonks had complained Snape had insisted that they didn't want any wounds opening up and whatever curse Dolohov had put on him had resulted in pretty bad internal injuries. There were potions for the liver, the stomach, blood replenishing and flesh regeneration. In all honesty Andromeda payed no attention to the potions Remus was taking. He could be taking a potion for every organ in his body for all she cared. As long as they worked, that was all that mattered.

Then, after the eighth day of seeing glazed over eyes and small half formed smiles Snape came in carrying a steaming goblet and Andromeda was suddenly reminded that the full moon was only a week away.

Just in time for the Wolfsbane regiment to begin.

She expected Snape to force the potion down the werewolf's throat like usual but this time he was met with resistance as Remus' features contorted and his mouth forced the potion bottle away.

"Ugh," came a raspy voice, rough from disuse.

"That tastes like shit," Remus muttered and Andromeda felt a feeling of happiness erupt from her chest as Remus eyes opened. They weren't dull and unresponsive like before. There was defiantly life in those eyes now and maybe even a Marauder-ish gleam to it as Tonks gave a huge shout of glee and threw her arms around her husband.

Snape was the only one who was the least surprised.

"Either way you have to drink," he replied stiffly and Remus made a face as Snape shoved the potion bottle past his lips and tipped it upwards.

It was only when Snape moved away after the potion had been drained that Remus finally saw his mother in law. He looked surprised at first and Andromeda gave him a warm smile.

Standing up she walked over to the bed and lay Teddy's sleeping form beside his father.

"Good to see you're finally up. You had many people worried," she said leaving the room. She had intruded enough this past week. It was time for the still new family to finally get their chance at spending some time together.

And as Andromeda Floo'ed home feeling happier than she had in a week it was just then that she heard the doorbell ring.

With a rather curious and questioning look she slowly approached the door and opened it.

And there standing before her was her younger sister looking at her shoes and fidgeting nervously on the porch landing.

Andromeda Tonks stared at Narcissa Malfoy, the sister she hadn't seen in over a decade for quite some time. She let the uncomfortable silence stretch on before finally shaking herself, giving a smile and inviting Narcissa insid.

She had forgiven a werewolf. Surely she could forgive her own sister.

The war was over. And it was a good of a time as any for families, new and old, to spend some time together.

* * *

Next chapter will be out in a few hours...it will also be MUCH shorter

Review please!


	7. Molly Weasley

Molly Weasley was a wreak. Two days after the war she had watched her son being lowered into the ground and a week later she had still not managed to move on.

Tonks had been at the funeral. She had offered her condolences and encouraged her to cheer up.

"I don't think Fred would have liked so many people being upset over him," she had said determinedly.

Even over the week the rest of her family had tried cheering her up.

"Tonks is right mum. Fred wouldn't have wanted us to cry over him. He'd want you to laugh and enjoy life," George had said after the funeral.

But she couldn't help but think that it was all her fault.

"I shouldn't have let them fight. Why did I let them fight?"

People had told her that even if she didn't let her boys fight they would have done it anyways but Molly didn't listen. She blamed herself and no one could tell her otherwise.

Maybe it was an attempt to cheer her up or for an ulterior motive but the Weasleys had thrown a party for Harry's victory a week after the battle.

It was only there that she'd managed to cheer up, with so many friends around her house it was hard to stay depressed and sullen to her house guests. She had repeated Tonks' words over and over again and decided that yes, enjoying life was a far better alternative to sulking and crying.

"Hello Molly, the cake is delicious!" Tonks had said happily as she entered the kitchen, startling Mrs. Weasley out of her thoughts.

"Thank you dear. Just set the plate down there," she said and Tonks quickly followed the instruction.

"Come. You have to join in on the fun. Your boys can play a mean game of Exploding Snap," Tonks said, sensing Molly's conflicting thoughts and trying to cheer her up as she led her to the den where the majority of the party was underway.

She really ought to feel thankful Tonks was trying so hard to cheer her up and here Molly was, hollow as a bone, numbly following the young Auror to the rest of her family.

"So. What's happening with you lately?" she asked conversationally once Tonks had settled them both in a nice comfy couch.

"With Kingsley as the Minister he said I finally get my job back. I even get a promotion!" Tonks said cheerfully and Molly raised her eyebrows in slight surprise, "That's wonderful Tonks," Molly said genuinely happy for her young friend.

"Nymphadora Tonks: Head of Aurors. Doesn't that just sound grand? I can't wait," Tonks said with a goofy sort of smile on her face.

Molly felt a strange sense of pride burst from her chest but it quickly died down when Tonks repeated her own question.

"So. What's happening with_ you_ lately?"

And Molly had burst into tears.

Tonks looked deeply concerned, "I'm sorry Molly. I'm sorry," she said hastily, not wanting to see any more tears from the woman in front of her.

"No. No. It's alright Tonks. I appreciate you trying to cheer me up. I really do," Molly said, getting over her bout of depression faster than any other time.

"It's just that. I can't help thinking that it's my fault he's gone," she said wiping back tears.

Tonks face grew serious and she grabbed onto Molly's shoulders with both hands.

"Don't say that!" she said and Molly looked up, surprised at such an action by the usually bright and cheerful Auror.

"Fred wanted to fight for his family just as much as you wanted to. He's not the kind of boy to sit still while everyone's dying around him. He made his choice. Accepted the dangers and I'm sure right this very minute he's frowning at you for even thinking of blaming yourself," Tonks said with a spark of determination in her eyes.

"But-"

"You raised a brave, courageous child Molly. He was willing to sacrifice his life to make the others around him happy. It's not your fault for his death but it _is_ your fault for treating his sacrifice as if it was nothing," she said and Molly looked up at her friend for a long time, tears threatening to fall but grounded by the Auror's determined eyes and strong voice.

"Besides." Tonks went on, "People need you too. You've still got your husband and all your other children. You're the mother Harry never had and me." Tonks took a deep breath, "I owe you so much Molly."

Molly turned In confusion to her younger companion, "But I haven't-" she started only to be interrupted.

"No. You might think you haven't done anything but you noticed my love for Remus and you didn't sneer at it; you didn't laugh at it. Encouraged both of us when things were off to a rocky start. All those cups of tea you gave me in those months must have cost a fortune. You respect Remus for what he is and even though I know you don't like it, you don't say anything when I walk in your house with nose piercings and pig snouts. If it wasn't for you I would never have ended up with the man I loved and I would never had had Teddy and for that I owe you everything," Tonks finished and Molly was left staring, stunned at such an emotional monologue from the otherwise carefree witch.

"...Thank you Tonks," she said after a long silence and Tonks positively beamed at her.

"I'll go fetch us some more cake then," Tonks said, standing and running back into the kitchen.

Molly looked around the happy living room. Harry, Ron and George were laughing about some unknown joke and Arthur was in the corner chatting with Kingsley. Bill and Fleur were no doubt upstairs and Sirius and Charlie were in a heated debate over some unknown fact. Hermione and Ginny were no doubt outside and McGonagall was pleasantly sipping wine next to the wireless as an energetic Teddy Lupin, happily chewing on the ear of his stuffed cow, bounced on her lap. Everything seemed to indeed be well.

Fred would have been happy.

And then Molly thought about Tonks and all that she was doing to cheer her up. She would have to thank the young Auror later on. Her words had certainly had the right effect on Molly. She had never seen herself as the one responsible for Tonks' and Remus' relationship.

At first she had noticed Tonks' attraction for him and, like every mother, had continuously encouraged her. Remus was a good man. They had overlapped in Hogwarts and he was a shy, polite boy back then. The quiet one that balanced out Sirius' and James' rowdy behaviour. It had helped that she had known him before she had known he was a werewolf. Had it been the other way around and she feared she might have scorned him first hand.

But things hadn't turned out that way and Molly had reacted with shock at the news that he was a werewolf. He was much too nice to turn into a nasty beast once every month. And that was the deciding factor. It was only once a month. Every other day of the month he was 100% human with a charming smile and a wicked sense of humor. He was just too hard on himself at times.

But nevertheless, without even thinking very much about it, Molly had respected him, treated him like any other guest and encouraged Tonks' relationship with him. She had unconsciously taken it upon herself to convince the two lovebirds that the danger was in fact very small and whether they liked it or not she would support them until the very end.

She hadn't given much thought to her involvement of the now inseparable couple. She had remembered feeling proud as Tonks walked down the aisle and she had felt ecstatic as Remus bounded through the doorway and announced the birth of his son.

And as Tonks handed Molly a slice of cake she had smiled and politely accepted.

"I think it is I who needs to thank you Tonks," she started and they talked long into the night.

It wasn't until hours later when everyone was gathered around the dinner table that she finally realized that Remus was not with them…..

* * *

The first thing the next morning, Molly rushed over to the Hogwarts infirmary with a basket of her best chocolate cake and asked Madam Pomfrey to see a certain werewolf.

All last night she had been beside herself with shame and worry as she realized that Tonks was spending so much effort cheering her up while her own husband lay wounded in the hospital.

She was shocked when Sirius had told him the news after Tonks had left that night. Her good mood had was shattered to pieces and her thoughts were in a turmoil.

Why was she so selfish? Why had no one mentioned that a friend had been badly injured?

"Its OK. He woke up this morning," Sirius had said cheerfully the other day but Molly still burned with shame.

Remus could have _died _this week and Molly hadn't even known. She should have been there, reassuring Tonks and visiting the infirmary. Not walowing in her depression back home.

"He might be still asleep," Pomfrey said with a small smile but she pointed to her office door none the less and Molly thanked her before hurrying on her way.

She knocked twice nerviously but received no answer. Checking the time she realized that Tonks must be at work by now and slowly she turned the handle of the door and let herself inside.

"Remus?" she asked, poking her head in and her breathe caught in her throat at the sight before her.

Not because it was tragic. No. Quite the opposite in fact.

Remus lay on his side, bandages littered his frame but his breathing was deep and even.

And encased in his arms, month old Teddy Lupin was happiy drooling away on his stuffed cow.

The boy looked to be awake for quite some time and looked up as Molly entered the room. Not used to someone so early in the morning, Teddy hid his face and made a small whimpering sound, pressing himself up against his father for safety and comfort.

Remus, still asleep, unconcsiously clutched his son closer to him earning a large smile and a happy gugle from the purple haired boy.

Watching the sight, Molly's heart could have just burst with happiness right there.

A year ago, Remus had been sullen and withdrawn from any kind of relationship, feeling that he wasn't good enough; that Tonks deserved better.

"I always planned to live my life alone," he'd told her, when Molly had questioned him.

Back then he'd believed that he was too old, too poor and too dangerious. He had quietly accepted the fact that he was better off alone; that being with others would only cause them harm.

But the scene before her clearly said otherwise. Teddy looked perfectly happy and at peace in his father's arms and Molly could have sworn there was a faint smile lingering on Remus' lips as he slept.

This was what they had fought was what Fred and fifty others had sacrificed their lives for.

And as Molly Weasley set her basket of scrumpcious cake on the bedside table she gave father and son a true smile before leaving the room.

"I always said you were taking a ridiculous line on things Remus," she murmered softly as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

This chapter didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. I just can't write Molly...which is why I cut this chapter short really quickly...


	8. Minerva McGonagall

McGonagall had witnessed it all. She had been at the forefront before and after _both _wars and right now she was putting all that experience into good use as she looked down at her student with scrutinizing eyes.

Remus couldn't help but suddenly felt like a child again.

"Do you understand the situation Remus?" McGonagall asked as if schooling first years and Remus nodded slowly before reaching to grab Teddy who was in danger of tipping over the side of the bed.

It had only been two weeks since the battle. The full moon had been yesterday and it left Remus feeling rather drained but he sat up none the less as his former Head of House came marching into the office.

"You want me to teach again?" he said, voice somewhat strained as his mind repeatedly told him that yes, this was _real_.

"Severus has agreed to brew your Wolfsbane. You will spend the moons in your office like before so we can check on you and your fireplace will have a direct link to your house so you may go home whenever you like," McGonagall said bluntly as she scrutinized the man before her.

If one ignored the scars and the hair flecked with grey, McGonagall swore that the Remus Lupin sitting cross legged on crisp new sheets of his bed looked like the same boy that had sat in her classes decades ago.

Even though his frame was still covered in bandages and he had bags under his eyes from the full moon Remus seemed to radiate happiness.

It made him seem younger. That flicker of pride and joy in his eyes reminded McGonagall of his sharp sense of humor and his quick thinking that got his friends out of trouble. He reminded her of a true Marauder, not the sullen poor man that most people saw.

No, the Remus that McGonagall remembered was studious, stuck up for his friends, blushed when praised and laughed when his friends mentioned his "furry little problem." He always had something up his sleeve; something complementary to say that would make McGonagall feel slightly happier so that when detentions were dished out, the Marauders managed to get away with shorter sentences.

The Remust she remembered had been a charmer, doing everything he could to be on the good side of people. He didn't like fights yet no one had ever broken his record of "Most Dententions as a Prefect". He was brave. Braver than one might expect and he was willing to sacrifice so much for the people he cared about, even if those people didn't care for him back.

He had been happy.

That was the line. At Hogwarts, Remus had been happy and he had shined because of it.

And then the first wave had hit and McGonagall had watched the once happy man descend into a pit of despair as he discovered the news of his friends' deaths and betrayals.

And then the second wave had hit and McGonagall saw him grow to be the teacher and mentor Harry needed. The Remus she had remembered was peeking out behind the mask back then.

Yet once Remus lost his job, that person had vanished behind masks and walls once more.

Until finally, after years and years of waiting and watching, McGonagall finally saw the man Remus once was break through the barriers.

As she watched Remus play with Teddy on the hospital bed, eyes lighting up whenever the child smiled or laughed, she couldn't help but conclude that the _real _Remus was back.

She had watched from the sidelines for years and now was her time to act.

"I won't take no for an answer Remus," she said almost threatengly.

Teddy, who had managed to sit himself firmly in his father's lap, swivelled his head to the Headmistriss at her tone but didn't seem frigetened by it.

"Yes but Umbridge-" Remus muttered feebily.

"Umbridge is in Azkaban Remus. Kinglsey's office is re-issuing hundreds of new laws and the anti-werewolf legislation will be void within the month," McGonagall interrupted, crossing her arms. She could play his game.

"Yes but the students-"

"It was the students themselves who chose you Remus. I asked the older students who had you as their teacher and they all agreed that you were ideal. Even the Slythrins," McGonagall went on waving a dismissal hand at Remus' shocked face

"...And the parents ..." Remus said, voice bordering on hopeful as if his mind was still telling him that there was some flaw to this plan. Some thing always was.

"I have arranged for a second teacher. She is in high favour with the pure blooded crowd and to meet expectations I had to hire her for next year but I don't think she is skilled skilled enough in teaching. I'm afraid that she'll be very biased. Which is why I need you," McGonagall explained clearly.

"If you have a teacher then I don't see why-"

"It's not that Remus," McGonagall argued, "I do not like her teaching methods and with any luck students and parents won't either. Sooner or later most will wish to transfer out and hopefully they'll realize that having a werewolf for a teacher is better than the alternative," McGonagall said and Remus stared, shocked that McGonagall had actually been planning this the whole time.

"What about the press?" he whispered and his tone told McGonagall that he was desperately trying to keep from getting too hopeful should his happiness suddenly burst from one overlooked fact.

"Harry has already issued a statement for the Sunday Prophet about your re-employment. I'll pass it on to you this weekend," she said with a shrug, "Most people don't want to get on the bad side of The Boy Who Lived after all."

Remus gave a humorlous laugh before his face turned serious once more.

Everything was accounted for. Minerva had covered all her bases...

"It's...perfect," Remus admitted with a heart wrenching kind of happiness as he clutched Teddy closer to him. He was going to get a job. Not just a simple meandering task like his previous jobs. Not even like the job in 1993 where he knew he would only last a year at most.

He was going to get a job that he'd never have to leave and it was of something he loved to do as an added bonus.

He'd get to teach again.

He wouldn't be the unemployed, publically outed werewolf that had shamed him as he faced his in-laws. He would be at happy at Hogwarts once more like decades before.

Only this time it would be as _Professor_ Remus J. Lupin.

"I...I don't know what to say," he went on in a voice full of wonder as if he was a child given the most amazing Christmas present in the world by the Headmistress herself.

"When the time is right," McGonagall said with a small smile.

"You say yes."

* * *

Another short chapter before bed. I'm not good at writing women. Especially "mother figures"

And I guess you could say I'm building up for the grand finale which will be longer...hopefully not as long as chapters 4 and 5 but definately longer than these two have been.

If you're still with me then leave a review!


	9. Remus Lupin

Remus stared, transfixed at the sight.

Blood.

There was blood, long since dry. It pooled around the limp limbs and soaked in their hair. And in the middle of the pool his wife and son lay.

Remus felt his legs give and he sank down to the floor.

Tonk's dead eyes bored holes in his mind and her mouth was open as if in shock or pain. A hole was in the middle of her forehead causing blood to come spilling out, encasing her heart shaped face in a mask of red sticky liquid.

She'd been shot.

By a Muggle device: a gun.

Point blank. It had exited the back of her head less than a second later but by then she was already dead…..

On the floor beside her, face down, was Teddy, the back of his head had been blown out. The impact of the bullet too much for the small body.

Remus couldn't look at him, he couldn't seem to break away from his wife's lifeless gaze. Not even when he heard the tell-tale thumps of someone marching up the stairs behind him.

"Oi Money, what're you doing in-" Sirius' voice faltered as he looked at his friend's horrified face to the corpses lying on the ground.

He took in the mangled limbs and the blood before his eyes drifted up to an open wardrobe.

Immediately he understood.

He quickly stepped in front of Remus, facing the bodies and drawing out his wand.

"Riddikulus!" Sirius shouted and with a bang the corpses and the blood vanished back into the wardrobe.

There was a slit second silence before another bang echoed throughout the room, this time of Remus slamming the door behind him as he rushed out of the small classroom.

* * *

"It was supposed to be the moon. Why wasn't it the moon?" Remus muttered to himself as he leaped down the staircase and ran outside.

His mind was reeling as he tried to comprehend the suddenly bizarre yet horrifying turn of events.

Ever since he could remember his Boggart had been a full moon. And then he'd easily turn it into a balloon with the wave of his hand and send it whizzing away. It was simple; easy; often times Remus didn't even give it a second thought. He knew his fear. He was afraid of the beast that broke free under the pull of the moon.

It was the moon that made him a werewolf; destined to destroy and infect. And as a result, he was shunned, he was dangerous, he was poor. It was the moon that was the cause for all his misfortunes. It mocked him with its gentle glow that would have made anyone else think of beauty rather than fear.

He'd blamed the moon since he was eight years old and the fear had never really left him…..

….until now it seemed….

By the time Remus had escaped to the relatively quiet spot by the lake bordering the Hogwarts grounds he was breathing heavily and and he was clutching his puncture wound from two weeks previous that was screaming at him to be noticed.

"Calm down. Remus. Come on," Remus muttered as he sat down by some rocks,drawing up his legs and closing his eyes to try to fight off the pain and calm his mind.

But his mind refused to be calm.

"I'm not afraid anymore," Remus whispered to himself. The words tasted foreign in his mouth and a part of his brain was denying every part of it.

But another part of his brain was thinking logically.

_"Your biggest fear is that your family will die. But it won't be by your hand. You're not afraid of the beast anymore"_ his brain told him like a mother lecturing a child.

Remus turned this idea around in his for a while with a frown etched onto his face.

The Boggart had shown Tonks and Teddy shot by a gun; a Muggle device. Not slashed by teeth or claws….

But as soon as he was about to accept this story as fact he registered one more thing:

"Why?" he whispered. It was human nature to ask why. Why the change? Why the acceptance? Why now? He surely didn't feel like his fear had changed. The very thought of the beast tearing his family to pieces still made Remus' skin crawl and bile rise to his throat.

"So why?" Remus repeated, heads still pooled in his arms that were resting on his knees.

_"Because the beast is a part of you."_

Remus froze at the answer, shocked that his brain could even think of such a thought.

"That's impossible," Remus shouted angrily, startled when his voice echoed throughout the empty Hogwarts grounds.

"I've spent thirty years trying to convince people that the beast _isn't_ a part of me," he muttered,chin resting on his arms again as he stared out towards the lake.

_"Sirius and James. They all said that the beast had nothing to do with me. They said I was better than it. It has no control over me. It has nothing to do with me at all." _

Remus' mind was swimming, trying to come up with a solution and observing both sides of the story at the same time.

_"The beast will hurt everyone. It's ruined my life. It's a vicious animal that will do nothing to stop from killing and infecting those around me. I…I'm not like that. I don't want to hurt those around me. I really don't."_

_"But would you still feel the same if it wasn't for the beast?"_

Remus' eyes widened as his internal battle began.

_"If it wasn't for the beast. Would you go out of your way to **not **harm people? Would you have worked your hardest at school? Would you have made friends that lasted you a lifetime?"_ his heart accused and Remus' brain was still whirling from the news.

_"Maybe. Just maybe. You wouldn't care if you harmed people. Maybe you wouldn't have cared about school because you knew you had the same chance of getting a job as everyone else. Maybe you wouldn't have cared about your friends because you could just make more. The beast prevented you from getting a job so you worked harder to make up for it. The beast prevented you from making friends so you stuck up to the ones you had,"_ his heart threw out all these facts like it were nothing and Remus was still scrambling to keep up.

_"And you **do **have friends. Much more than you think. It's not just Sirius either. It's Arthur and Molly and Minerva and Snape….Ok, maybe not Snape…"_

Remus gave a dry laugh at this statement but his thoughts continued.

_"Even Dora's parents care for you. Do you honestly think Andromeda would have been sitting by your hospital bed for a whole week if she **didn't **care for you? Do you think Ted would have given you his blessing? Do you think they would have let you **marry** her in the first place?"_

Remus had always felt like the luckiest man in the world when Dora's parents had given him their blessings for the marriage. It had been the most relieving thing of his life and he'd never taken it for granted.

_"And don't forget all your students. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville. They all treat you like a friend. They look up to you. Werewolf or not they don't care. To them you'll always be 'Professor Lupin.'" _

Remus felt a small smile spread over his face. The information had been there. Deep down he'd known that he really did matter. That he really was good enough. He'd just never bothered to admit it until now.

_"And Dora,"_ his head continued_, "Would she still love you if it wasn't for the beast?"_

Remust frowned in confusion.

_"Would you have cared to be a charmer if it weren't for the beast? You're nice because you fear that the beast makes people think you're mean. You're thoughtful because the beast is not. You're polite and kind and punctual because you were brought up to think that no one would like you if you weren't. You love to be loved because you think it's something you can't have ...and people love you anyways."_

"Oi! Moony!"

Remus was starled out of his thoughts as he whipped his head around to find his friend running up to him.

"There you are! Dammit Moony I've been looking everywhere for you!" Sirius complained as he clapped Remus on the shoulder and slumped down to sit next to him on the rocks.

"Pomfrey wants you to drink this before you keel over and die," Sirius said, observing his friend closely and trying to keep the mood light.

"Thanks," Remust mumbled, giving his friend a small smile before accepting the foul tasting potion.

"So, how's Tonks," Sirius said conversationally and Remus gave a hollow laugh.

"Terrible," Remus said with a wry grin as he took another sip of potion, "Head Auror Nymphadora Tonks says and I quote, 'the paperwork will be the death of me'."

"That bad huh?" Sirius said with a grin.

"You have no idea. She said she'll step down in a year or so once everything's calmed down a bit more. Who knows? Maybe by then Harry can get the title," Remus said with a slightly proud shrug.

"Yup. That's Harry for you. I'll give him six years. If he isn't Head Auror by then I'll personally come and knock him over the head," Sirius said and he and Remus shared a laugh.

"What are you going to do?" Remus said changing the topic, "Now that it's all over."

Sirius shrugged, "Shacklebolt had no problem clearing up my name. Snape's was a bit more complicated but it got through in the end..."

"So you're a free man," Remus supplied and Sirius sighed.

"Yeah. I guess I am...strange... I don't feel much different," he joked and Remus gave a smile, "Yeah. Changes like that don't usually do," he said with a rather far away look in his eyes as if remember something from earlier.

"You going to join the Auror department?" Remus asked, "That had been Sirius' and James' goal for years in school but Sirius shook his head in a definite no.

"No way. I'm a free man Moony. Maybe I'll become a journalist or something. Gives me an excuse to travel the world you know. I can't stay cooped up here for too long. I learned that the hard way," Sirius muttered, "Besides, when I walk down the street people still freak out and hide from me around here," Sirius said with a small frown only to give a shrugg, "Maybe I'll get more luck in France or Greece or something. I heard they have great food!"

Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius never seemed to change.

"But that's enough about me. How's my favourite nephew?" Sirius said, happy that the mood had been lightened.

"Ted? He's great. Eats, sleeps, cries, repeats," Remus said with a rather affectionate smile, "and he's not your nephew. If Andromeda's your first cousin that makes Dora your first cousin once removed and that makes Teddy your _second_ cousin..."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Know it all," he muttered, giving his friend a playful push before he took on a more serious mood.

"And you?" Sirius finally asked, "Are you OK?"

Remus paused to observe his friend for a moment. Sirius' eyes were filled worry and sympathy while his jaw was set. It seemed like he was preparing to fight for Remus' self worth with everything he had.

And as such, it was to Sirius' rather surprise and relief when Remus gave him a warm, bright smile.

"Yeah," Remus said slowly, head turning towards the calm sea, an expression of peace in his eyes.

"Yeah. I'm OK."

Sirius gave a small sigh of relief at the news but he couldn't help from raising an eyebrow. Remus usually spent hours dwelling over the smallest things and Sirius had been more than willing to stick up for him. It turned out that this time he might not have to.

"Minerva gave me a job you know?" Remus went on, not looking at his friend, "...And I accepted..."

"Oh?" Sirius said, with a smile on his face and Remus nodded before his eyes took a far away look to them again.

Sirius braced himself.

"I'm a werewolf," Remus said slowly and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"And I'm me..."

Sirius stayed silent. If his friend was going through some mental breakdown then he decided to just stay out of it until he was done.

"I can be me and I can be a werewolf at the same time right?" Remus said, not bothering to wait for Sirius' reply (which was good because Sirius had no idea where Remus' train of thought was heading anyways.)

"Don't you get it Sirius?" Remus said, suddenly excited and leaping to his feet, "The werewolf is a part of me. I am the werewolf and it is me. I can't wish it to go away because then I'd be losing a part of me. Everything I did, everything I said, some subconscious part of me did it because of the beast inside. And now it's second nature. The wolf shaped me to be who I am today. I can't just get rid of it. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I_ wasn't_ a werewolf. Can you image? As a human I might still be poor and I might still be dangerous only for totally different reasons. If I walked down the street as a certified human it wouldn't feel right. I know it won't because that person wouldn't be _me_."

Sirius by now seemed to be following along quite easily, strange seeing how profound expressions of self-imaging tended to make him confused and feeling no less than stupid.

But now he understood.

"I thought I was the unluckiest kid in the world when I was bitten you know?" Remus breathed, the light from the moon illuminating his features and making him look years younger. "But really, it wasn't that bad. My parents loved me. I knew that. Dumbledore let me go to school. I met you and James and ever Peter. We had fun time then. My years at Hogwarts were the best years of my life. And after that I met Harry and then...then I met Dora...and then I had Teddy... "

Remus trailed off in thought as he stared out of the calm waves hitting the rocks beneath him.

"And they love me," Remus' voice was a little strained but Sirius smiled none the less.

"And I love them too," Remus said, turning to look at Sirius sitting behind him, "I really do. Every time Teddy laughs, every time he looks at me. I feel like I could just burst from happiness," Remus continued with a goofy little grin on his face, "I know it sounds stupid but it's true. One time he woke up crying at night? He calmed down as soon as I picked him up. It was amazing. And Dora. I could go on for hours about her," Remus said, looking a bit dreamy eyed as he gazed back out to the lake.

"And Dora wouldn't love me if I was any different," Remus mumbled, understanding and acceptance finally filling his very soul.

"I'm the luckiest man alive," Remus concluded before another huge grin lit up his face, "And I don't think I want it any other way."

And Sirius couldn't have felt happier. Truth be told he was actually trying to refrain from jumping up and down like a little boy.

Remus Lupin was a man of many things. He was charming and thoughtful and polite like all gentlemen should be. He was reliable; honest; unselfish. Everything which made him a good friend and partner yet he coule be stubborn and mischevious like no other. He was skilled yet humble. He respected everyone as equals and probably couldn't lie to save his life. And the list went on: devoted, courageous, generous, mature, the words just kept going one after the other until it spiralled out of Sirius' control and focused on the one point at the very bottom.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

At the best of times it was just a furry little problem. At worst, a condition; an ailment; a _disease_.

But, as Sirius looked up at his friend, standing amidst the rocks, partially concealed by the shadow of the moon he thought that it was safe to say:

That to Remus Lupin. It was no longer a curse.

* * *

The End...well...I could make an epilogue...but I kinda like how this ended...what do you guys think? o.0


	10. Teddy Lupin

Rain poured down, striking the window of the nursery and jolting year old Teddy from his sleep. He instinctively reached for his stuffed cow with a whimper and tried to go back to sleep but the pounding of the rain was insistant.

Suddenly, the room lit up as light streamed through the curtains and Teddy shut his eyes to ward off the scary shadows that had suddenly appeared in his vision.

Surpressing a sob he peered back out from underneath his pillow only for a huge boom of thunder to echo throughout the landscape.

With a terrified shriek Teddy curled up once more under his blankets clamping two small hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut.

He wanted his daddy. Where was he? Normally his daddy came whenever things got scary and he'd pick him up and cuddle him until he fell back asleep. Sometimes, if it got really bad his daddy would take him into his room and let him sleep next to him and mommy.

But he wasn't coming and Teddy gave a small squeak when another flash of lighting lit up the sky and the thunder rumbled by a few seconds later.

"Daddy!" he shouted, lisening intently for the tell tale sounds of his parent's door creaking open and soft, quick footsteps making their way to the nursery.

"Daddy!" Teddy cried again, eyes filling with tears as the wind picked up and shook the very foundation of the house.

And then suddenly the whole sky lit up once more and at the same time the roar of the thunder boomed out louder than ever before. It shook everything to their core and poor Teddy Lupin knew it was time to act.

Panic already setting in Teddy cried and clawed desperately at the bars of his crib.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" he cried, jumping up and down in his bed.

As another earth shattering boom echoed Teddy ducked his head, tightened his grip on the bars and jumped. As he vaulted over the edge of his crib he kicked his legs frantically so that the rest of his body would flip over so that he landed on his back with a small thump.

Dazzed but not feeling the least bit safer Teddy ran as fast as his little feet could carry him...which wasn't very fast... Eventually he tripped over air and resumed crawling frantically for the door to the nursery.

The hallway was darker than Teddy had ever seen it and he half contemplated going back and hiding in bed. But then the lightning flashed and Teddy was jolted into action.

He turned his head to his parent's bedroom right down the hall and froze.

The bedroom door was open and the faint light of the moon illuminating the inside of the room showed no one was inside.

Teddy was ready to cry again.

But then he remembered something.

Sometimes Daddy had to go to bed early downstairs. Teddy didn't like it when he went down there because his Daddy couldn't play with him the next day but maybe today that was where he was.

So, new goal set and heart beat quickening with every echo of thunder, Teddy crawled down the stairs and made his way through the spooky house towards the basement. He slipped and ran into a few things here and there but got to the door nevertheless intact.

"Daddy!" Teddy shouted, hauling himself up only to find that he could not reach the door even if he stood.

The rain pelted the windows as Teddy called for his dad. He had come so far. He couldn't back down now. He wanted his daddy and he wanted him _now_.

"Daddy!" Teddy cried just as a crack of lightning illuminated the hosue for several seconds.

Teddy kicked and hit, limbs flailing as he rattled the door until it would surely fall off its hinges.

"DADDY!" Teddy cried in desperation and, punctuated by the rattling of the house as the wind intensified outside, the door slammed open with a burst of magic.

Teddy didn't bother marvelling at his use of underage magic for, as soon as the door opened he fell head first into the basement with a surprised squeak.

He bounced several times down the steps, trying to balance himself as he fell but before he knew it he had landed rather painfully on his face.

Ignoring the pain the boy eagerly looked up.

Had he finally found sactuary?

His gaze took in the almost empty room. There was a ball and some books in the corner, a rug and at the very back of the room, a fairly large four poster bed.

But Teddy's heart plummeted when he realized that there was no one _on_ the bed.

His daddy wasn't here. All that effort. The fear. The pain. His daddy wasn't there to tell him that it would be alright and that he'd make it all better. His daddy had abandoned him.

And finally, as thunder clashed overhead, Teddy, still sitting on the cold basement floor closed his eyes, opened his mouth and cried.

Remus the werewolf flattened his ears at the wailing coming from his son just a few feet away. His first instinct was to run out of his cover beneath the bed, scoop the little toddler up and cuddle him to death.

But another part of him told him that if Teddy saw a ferocious looking wolf standing over him it'd only make him more scared than he already was.

_"Dammit Remus he's your **son**,"_ a part of his mind told him and slowly he inched out from underneath the bed.

Teddy was too busy crying to notice a huge grey wolf approach him until a cold nose softly nudged his cheek.

Eyes flying open, Teddy stared in shock at the large canine before him.

He took in the large mouth that no doubt housed large teeth, the thick fur and the rather sharp looking claws.

But then Teddy saw something else. A look of concern in those golden eyes and a careful lick on the cut on his forhead made Teddy smile in recognition.

"Daddy!" he said happily, flinging his arms around the werewolf with a content sigh.

Remus looked startled at his son's reaction. Slowly he turned his head to take in the sight of the boy burying his face into his fur with a peaceful smile on his face.

He had a little bruise on his chin and a cut on his forhead from his fall down the stairs but Remus was thankful that his son was safe and happy...at least...he looked pretty happy.

Remus moved to wipe away the tears on Teddy's face only to realize paws wouldn't be much use for such a deed so, slowly he stuck out his tongue and gave Teddy's face a small lick.

The boy burst out into a fit of giggles as the tongue splayed itself on his face and Remus would have smiled if he knew how. Instead he playfully tickled the boy with his nose and Teddy only laughed harder much to Remus' delight.

He carefully set Teddy down and ran to grab the ball in the corner. Dora had placed it there as a joke but now seemed like a pretty good time to use it.

On normal days he read to Ted to get him back to sleep but unless Teddy wanted to hear a mixture of howls, barks and growls Remus didn't think reading was a very good idea...which left only one option: he needed to tire him out.

Swatting the ball with his leg, Remus watched it roll over to Ted who grabbed for the brightly colored ball eagerly. The toddler was always up for a game as he bounced the ball back to the wolf in the corner.

It was like having your own dog really. As the thunderstorm raged outside, Ted was too busy admiring the large wolf waiting for his every beck and call. He ran after the ball and gave it back to him like a game of fetch and when Ted got tired of that Remus romped around with his son on his back in the little basement. It wasn't very spacious but it was still a lot of fun for the boy. Not many people could say they'd been given piggy back rides by a werewolf on the full moon after all but Teddy was more than delighted to be given the opportunity.

Eventually though, Remus watched in slight amusement as Teddy rubbed his eye with a little fist and gave a large yawn.

Time for bed then...which was really a good thing. With all that running around Remus himself was starting to get a little tired.

Carelly picking a half asleep Teddy up by the back of his pyjamas Remus led the way over to the bed at the other side of the room. His ears still picked out the telltale signs of the thunderstorm and he doubted Teddy would have wanted to leave.

Making sure to keep his teeth in check, Remus lowered Teddy onto the bed who pleasantly curled up within the blankets.

Remus nodded and was just about to lie down at the foot of the bed before Teddy spoke up.

"Daddy," Teddy said, looking at Remus expectantly and Remus cocked his head.

"Daddy," Teddy said with a stubborn look on his face as he patted the bed beside him.

If Remus had eyebrows they would have shot up by now. Teddy wanted him to sleep next to him like _this?_

But Teddy was insistent and reluctantly Remus leaped onto the bed.

The mattress dipped as Remus made himself comfortable without trying to jossle the sheets too much but once he was settled Teddy gave him a happy smile before wriggling himself right up against him.

Remus couldn't have been happier.

He ruffled his boy's tranquil blue hair with his nose and watched with pride and joy as Teddy gave a happy gurgle in his sleep.

He really was the luckiest man in the world.

* * *

A few hours later, Tonks apparated directly into her house with a flustered huff.

She really did hate work.

_"Why'd that man have to go and bloody escape now of all days?"_

Needless to say, Tonks had spent all night chasing after some escaped convict in the middle of a bloody thunderstorm whereas she should have been at home taking care of Teddy. And now to make things worse, Remus wouldn't be in any position to hear her story, make her a cup of tea and whisk her off to bed with him.

Tonight she'd have to make her own cup of tea and go to bed alone and with a sigh Tonks marched upstairs to get undressed.

After a shower and shedding her Auror robes for something more comfortable, she decided to see how well Teddy was holding up. She hadn't heard any noise from his room so she figured he was still asleep.

The bundle in the blankets was still when Tonks looked in on it.

"How's my little boy?" she whispered, reaching down to stroke the soft...fur?

With a cry of alarm Tonks suddenly realized that the figure underneath the blankets wasn't her beloved son but of his stuffed cow instead.

"Teddy?" she shouted doing a search around the room before running down the stairs.

She froze at the sight of the battered looking door that led to the basement. It was hanging open; the wall behind it crumbling as if it had been knocked aside with tremendious force.

"Oh please no," Tonks whispered as she raced down the steps.

What she saw made her break out into relieved hysterical laughter.

Her werewolf husband's eyes snapped open at the sound and he gave her a pointed look from across the room.

In his sleep, Teddy shifted slightly and Remus delicately ruffled his hair with his nose again to get him to settle before turning to glare at his wife for almost waking their child up.

"Don't look at me like that Remus!" Tonks whispered, hands on her hips, "I come home and my son's not in his crib and your door looks like someone blasted through it. You had me scared half to death!" Tonks said with a frown and Remus looked away. Was that shame in his eyes?

"Don't be such a prat. I thought something happened. I didn't think that you _ate_ him," Tonks whispered, walking over to give her husband a cuff on the back of his ear.

"Now schooch over," Tonks commanded grabbing Remus' pillow from under him.

Remus looked at his wife as if she was crazy.

"What? You got to stay here all warm and cozy in the house and play with your son and_ I_ had to go chase after some mass murderer in a bloody typhoon! And what do I get in return? Do I get a thank you? Or even tea? No. Why? Because my husband's too busy being all insecure with 'oh, my son doesn't love me anymore now that he's seen me like this'," Tonks quoted as Remus paused to looke sheepish. Dora really did know him too well.

"Now schooch over so I can make my idiot of a husband feel less...what was the word? Emo?"

Remus cocked his head in confusion.

"Don't ask. I heard a lot of the new recruits using that term. Have to stay with the times Remus! Now move your bloody ass already!" Tonks threatened, poking her lupine husband on the nose.

Remus would have sighed but he shifted over anyways to allow his wife onto the bed.

"More. You're hogging the blankets," Dora said as she got comfortable and Remus rolled his eyes again as he moved all the way over, dragging Teddy along with him.

When all three Lupins were balanced precariously on the bed, Teddy protected by both parents on both sides, Remus opened his eyes a slit to look at the peaceful scene.

Tonks had an arm wrapped over Teddy so that she was clutching a handful of Remus' soft fur on the other side. Even Teddy seemed to love the fluff the fur gave as he cuddled close with a happy sigh. It was like having your own stuffed animal and Remus ruffled his hair lovingly.

They could make this work. Even after all these years Tonks still stuck up with him and even Teddy seemed to have accepted him.

Years ago Remus would have laughed at anyone who had said that he would have a loving wife and child. He would have rolled his eyes in disbelief if they'd said that after a while, being a werewolf wouldn't be so bad. That it'd get better and easier over time. He had scoffed. How could such a curse possibly get better? It had ruined his life and would continue to do so.

His mind relpayed Sirius' words from a few years ago: _"You're gonna get married and get a job and maybe even have a kid…"_

Back then he'd never taken those words for anything but a fool's paradise.

But, for once in his life. Remus had to admit that he was wrong.

It did get better.

People still loved him, still respected him and cared for him even though he was a beast once a month.

And now. Now he wasn't a beast at all. They were sleeping next to him. Holding him and loving him. In _this_ form.

_"And you know why Remus? Because you can. I know you can. Give yourself some bloody credit for once in your life would you?"_

With a smile Remus closed his eyes and lay back down on the bed, secretly relishing the feeling of simply being loved.

Sirius was right.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

But as he took in the peaceful, happy faces of the two people he loved sleeping right next to him he had to admit.

That maybe. Just maybe. He was so much more.

* * *

END

Review if you've made it this far. I wanted to make another chapter because of one major reason: I wanted to hit double digit chapters :P Besides, this chapter's not long enough for it to be its own story.

Anyways, by the end of _this_ week I want to uplaod the re-edited version of A Year to be Remembered (the sequel to this story) and hopefully by _next_ week I'll be working on the next installment of the series!


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